Trial reportThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2013
Brown fat activation mediates cold-induced thermogenesis in adult humans in response to a mild decrease in ambient temperature.
Trial report in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 99 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
99 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 171 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Free Triiodothyronine (FT3) Levels in Humans Depending on Seasonal Air Temperature Changes: Is the Variation in FT3 Levels Related to Nonshivering Thermogenesis?International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Interventions associated with brown adipose tissue activation and the impact on energy expenditure and weight loss: A systematic review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Pooled it
- Activation of Human Brown Adipose Tissue by Capsinoids, Catechins, Ephedrine, and Other Dietary Components: A Systematic Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2019Pooled it
- The impact of cholecalciferol supplementation on the systemic inflammatory profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis of high-quality randomized controlled trials.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2017Pooled it
- The Effects of 10-Week Strength Training in the Winter on Brown-like Adipose Tissue Vascular Density.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Chronic mirabegron treatment increases human brown fat, HDL cholesterol, and insulin sensitivity.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2020Trial
- Quantification of the Capacity for Cold-Induced Thermogenesis in Young Men With and Without Obesity.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2019Trial
- Effects of Indoor Thermal Environment on Human Food Intake, Productivity, and Comfort: Pilot, Randomized, Crossover Trial.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2018Trial
- Fasting and glucose induced thermogenesis in response to three ambient temperatures: a randomized crossover trial in the metabolic syndrome.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2018Trial
- Regulation of Human Adipose Tissue Activation, Gallbladder Size, and Bile Acid Metabolism by a β3-Adrenergic Receptor Agonist.Diabetes · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Mapping of human brown adipose tissue in lean and obese young men.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2017Trial
- Human brown adipose tissue [(15)O]O2 PET imaging in the presence and absence of cold stimulus.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2016Trial
- The thermogenic responses to overfeeding and cold are differentially regulated.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2016Trial
- Activation of human brown adipose tissue by a β3-adrenergic receptor agonist.Cell metabolism · 2015 · on this mapTrial
- Irisin and FGF21 are cold-induced endocrine activators of brown fat function in humans.Cell metabolism · 2014Trial
- Brown Adipose Tissue: Molecular Mechanisms of Regulation, Physiological Functions, and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2026Review
- Macrophage-derived itaconate is a negative regulator of adipose tissue thermogenesis.Nature metabolism · 2026Article
- The regulatory effects of growth hormone on adipose tissue at physiological and pathological levels and its relationship with obesity.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Review
- Thermogenic Gene Expression in Human Neck Adipose Tissue in Relation to Circulating and Local Thyroid Hormone Levels.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2026Article
39 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
contextThe contribution of brown adipose tissue (BAT) to the energy balance in humans exposed to sustainable cold has not been completely established, partially because of measurement limitations of both BAT activity and energy expenditure (EE).
objectiveThe objective of the study was to characterize the role of BAT activation in cold-induced thermogenesis (CIT).
designThis study was a single-blind, randomized crossover intervention.
settingThe study was conducted at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. STUDY
participantsThirty-one healthy volunteers participated in the study.
interventionsThe intervention included mild cold exposure. MAIN OUTCOMES: CIT and BAT activation were the main outcomes in this study.
methodsOvernight EE measurement by whole-room indirect calorimeter at 24 °C or 19 °C was followed by 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (PET) scan. After 36 hours, volunteers crossed over to the alternate study temperature under identical conditions. BAT activity was measured in a 3-dimensional region of interest in the upper torso by comparing the uptake at the two temperatures.
resultsTwenty-four volunteers (14 males, 10 females) had a complete data set. When compared with 24 °C, exposure at 19 °C resulted in increased EE (5.3 ± 5.9%, P < .001), indicating CIT response and mean BAT activity (10.5 ± 11.1%, P < .001). Multiple regression analysis indicated that a difference in BAT activity (P < .001), age (P = .01), and gender (P = .037) were independent contributors to individual variability of CIT.
conclusionsA small reduction in ambient temperature, within the range of climate-controlled buildings, is sufficient to increase human BAT activity, which correlates with individual CIT response. This study uncovers for the first time a spectrum of BAT activation among healthy adults during mild cold exposure not previously recognized by conventional PET and PET-computed tomography methods. The enhancement of cold-induced BAT stimulation may represent a novel environmental strategy in obesity treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.