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Ectopic fat deposition: novel insights into nutrition and glycaemic control

Year:
2024
Duration:
29 months
Approved budget:
$213,333.00
Researchers:
Yutong Liu
,
Professor Max Petrov
,
Dr Ivana Sequeira-Bisson
Host:
The University of Auckland
Health issue:
Cardiovascular/cerebrovascular
Proposal type:
Clinical Research Training Fellowship
Lay summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Aotearoa, where 1 in 3 deaths is attributed to CVD. There is accumulating evidence linking fat deposition in the liver and pancreas with arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, and other risk factors for CVD. A recently published preliminary work by the First Named Investigator (who is a New Zealand Registered Dietitian) has shown that nutritional ketosis achieved by a commercially available exogenous ketone supplement resulted in significant improvements in standard plasma lipid profile in people with prediabetes. The current project aims to take the field further by investigating comprehensively the effects of acute nutritional ketosis on triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, other components of lipidome, as well as glycaemic variability - the well-established independent risk factors for CVD - in adults with excess intra-pancreatic and liver fat deposition.