%0 Journal Article
%T Intermuscular Fat: A Review of the Consequences and Causes
%A Odessa Addison
%A Robin L. Marcus
%A Paul C. LaStayo
%A Alice S. Ryan
%J International Journal of Endocrinology
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/309570
%X Muscle＊s structural composition is an important factor underlying muscle strength and physical function in older adults. There is an increasing amount of research to support the clear disassociation between the loss of muscle lean tissue mass and strength with aging. This disassociation implies that factors in addition to lean muscle mass are responsible for the decreases in strength and function seen with aging. Intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) is a significant predictor of both muscle function and mobility function in older adults and across a wide variety of comorbid conditions such as stroke, spinal cord injury, diabetes, and COPD. IMAT is also implicated in metabolic dysfunction such as insulin resistance. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide a review of the implications of increased IMAT levels in metabolic, muscle, and mobility function. Potential treatment options to mitigate increasing levels of IMAT will also be discussed. 1. Introduction The unique ability of adipose tissue to expand throughout life and release a host of chemical messengers makes adipose not only a distinctive tissue but also the largest endocrine organ in the body [1]. In the last twenty years, a rapid expansion of our understanding of this unique organ has occurred. Once thought to be an inert storage depot for excess calories, important only to energy homeostasis, we now know that adipose tissue expresses and secretes a multitude of hormones and proinflammatory cytokines thereby acting in an autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine manner signaling the heart, musculoskeletal, central nervous, and metabolic systems [1每3]. Not all adipose depots are alike. Recent studies have suggested that the location [4每8] and type [9] of excess adipose tissue, rather than simply total body adiposity, may be important in the systemic increase of circulating cytokines and the rise in metabolic diseases such as diabetes [9每14] (for a more complete review of the types and roles of adipose tissue, see Wronska 2012 and Stehno-Bittel 2008) [1, 9]. Adipose tissue stored in subcutaneous depots, particularly in the gluteal-femoral region, is a negative predictor of metabolic syndrome and is cardioprotective [4每7, 15, 16]. However, adipose tissue stored in ectopic locations outside of the subcutaneous tissue such as in the muscle, liver, and abdominal cavity is linked with chronic inflammation [10, 17每19], impaired glucose tolerance [4每6, 20, 21], increased total cholesterol [8, 16, 22], and decreased strength and mobility in older adults [23每31]. Advancing age results in a
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ije/2014/309570/