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Sympathetic nervous system responses may predict weight loss
Straznicky NE. J Clin Endocrin Metab. 2011;doi:10.1210/jc.2011-2320.
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Participants with higher baseline muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst incidence were more likely to lose weight than those in whom this nerve activity was blunted, according to study results.
The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which the sympathetic nervous system - notably, differences in baseline sympathetic drive and nutritional sympathetic nervous system responsiveness - is a physiological modulator of basal and postprandial energy expenditure.
Eligibility criteria for the 42 obese participants (BMI=32.1 ± 0.5 kg/m2) in the study included Adult Treatment Panel III metabolic syndrome. These participants completed a 12-week weight-loss program using a modified version of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. All participants were measured for muscle sympathetic nerve activity at rest, and a subset had this measurement taken during a standard 75-g oral glucose tolerance test.
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The average weight loss at week 12 was -6.7 ± 0.5 kg. Baseline muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst incidence independently predicted weight loss (P=.019); after adjustments were made for age and baseline body weight, baseline muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst incidence remained the only independent predictor of weight loss, accounting for 14.3% of the variance.
Significantly blunted muscle sympathetic nerve activity responses to oral glucose at baseline was observed in the lower tertile of weight-loss group (4.4 ± 0.3%) compared with those who successfully lost weight (9.6 ± 0.8%).
Participants in the lowest tertile group - also known as the weight-loss resistant group - demonstrated an absolute change in muscle sympathetic nerve activity of -7 ± 2 bursts/100 heartbeats at 30 minutes after glucose. This change was -6 ± 5 at 60 minutes after glucose and -3 ± 3 at 90 minutes after glucose in the weight-loss resistant group.
Those in the successful weight-loss group demonstrated an absolute change in muscle sympathetic nerve activity of 9 ± 3, 12 ± 3 and 15 ± 4 bursts/100 heartbeats at 30, 60 and 90 minutes after glucose, respectively (time X group interaction, P=.004).
"These findings indicate that baseline sympathetic drive and nutritional sympathetic responsiveness may be important prognostic biological markers for weight-loss outcome," Nora E. Straznicky, BPharm, PhD, MPH, senior research officer at the Human Neurotransmitters Laboratory, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and colleagues wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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