The primary objective in this study is to examine the seasonal variation in genetic markers in the deep neck adipose tissue in humans. Human adipose tissue biopsies are taken from patients admitted for elective surgery in the neck. During the surgical procedure a subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsy is taken for reference.
The knowledge of brown adipose tissue (BAT) is derived mainly from studies in rodents where cold is an important regulator of BAT development and function. Yet, little is known about the regulation of BAT in humans. With this study the investigators aim to investigate the effects of seasonal changes in outdoor temperature on genetic markers of BAT in human deep neck adipose tissue. Project participants are patients who are admitted to Aarhus University Hospital for elective neck surgery. Operations are primarily due to suspected malignancy in the thyroid gland or hyperparathyroidism.No additional surgery is necessary to obtain the biopsies.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
95
Seasonal changes in temperature
Aarhus University Hospital
Aarhus, Central Jutland, Denmark
Differences in gene expression in BAT associated genes (PGC1a, UCP1, CIDEA, PRDM16)
biopsies will be grouped depending on outdoor temperature, differences in subcutaneous- and deep neck values,
Time frame: 1 day (The biopsies will be taken as a "point in time" value. Differences between seasons will be assesed. And so will correlations between genes at one point in time.)
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