{"slug": "brown-fat-can-be-beneficial-and-blood-pressure-meds-could-activate-it", "title": "Brown Fat Can Be Beneficial and Blood Pressure Meds Could Activate It", "summary": "A Rockefeller University-led study published in Nature used AI to scan the medical records of 101,243 participants, identifying nearly 8,900 with detectable brown fat, who were significantly less likely to have type 2 diabetes, heart disease, anxiety or depression. The same data linked blood pressure medication to a greater likelihood of detectable brown fat, and mouse tests showed losartan activated brown fat through a molecular pathway separate from the one that lowers blood pressure. Endocrinologist Nicolás Gómez-Banoy said the distinct pathways mean \"we could potentially isolate them in future therapies\" to stimulate brown fat in people with normal blood pressure, though the human data is associative, all participants had a cancer diagnosis and more than three-quarters were women.", "body_md": "Body fat can bring health benefits as well as health problems, depending on where it is and how much of it there is.\n\nBrown fat in particular is thought to be [mostly good for us](https://www.sciencealert.com/huge-human-study-suggests-good-type-of-fat-can-protect-against-numerous-diseases) – burning up excess sugar and fat and regulating body temperature.\n\nIn a new study in [*Nature*](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11162-7), researchers led by a team from Rockefeller University in the US have presented more evidence for brown fat (adipose tissue) boosting not just physical health, but mental health too.\n\nWhat's more, they've also identified a potential medication option: the blood pressure drug losartan was associated with a greater likelihood of having detectable brown fat in the study data.\n\nAll of these findings came from scanning the medical records of 101,243 study participants using AI to find brown fat, plus further tests in mouse models.\n\n\"Our studies harnessing  [artificial intelligence](https://www.sciencealert.com/artificial-intelligence) and big data identify new clinical phenotypes linked to brown adipose tissue and serve as a platform for drug repurposing to activate this tissue in humans,\" [write](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11162-7) the researchers in their published paper.\n\nThe first part of the research involved identifying nearly 8,900 of the study participants with detectable amounts of brown fat.\n\nIt's not something we all have in very large amounts, at least compared to the more common white fat: The level declines with age, and what brown fat we do have is often dormant.\n\nAfter crunching the numbers on these participants compared to matched controls, the researchers found that those with brown fat were significantly less likely to have type 2  [diabetes](https://www.sciencealert.com/diabetes) or heart disease.\n\nThen there were the mental health findings – the brown fat group was also less likely to [have anxiety or depression](https://www.sciencealert.com/brain-scans-identify-six-distinct-types-of-depression-and-anxiety).\n\nMore 'active' brown fat meant greater benefits, with armpit fat showing the biggest links. The data doesn't show direct cause and effect, but there do appear to be notable associations found here that can be followed up on in future research.\n\nThe researchers then moved on to blood pressure drugs. Another pattern that emerged was that people on blood pressure pills were more likely to have detectable levels of brown fat.\n\nSwitching to tests on mice, the team found that animals given losartan had brown fat that was more active – burning more energy and producing more heat, although any subsequent health benefits still have to be determined.\n\nThis activation was backed up by an analysis of brown fat cells in mice. It also happened via a different route to the one used to lower blood pressure, the study determined, which opens up more potential for future treatments.\n\n\"The fact that its different effects are mediated by different molecular pathways is advantageous, since it means we could potentially isolate them in future therapies,\" [says](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/blood-pressure-drug-may-activate-health-promoting-brown-fat) endocrinologist Nicolás Gómez-Banoy from Rockefeller University.\n\n\"That way you would be able to stimulate brown fat in people with normal blood pressure.\"\n\nThere are several caveats to sift through here. The association between blood pressure drugs and brown fat was identified in people, but the drug's ability to activate brown fat was demonstrated in mice, which are more reliant on brown fat than we are.\n\nWhen it comes to the original database of medical records, all the participants had been diagnosed with  [cancer](https://www.sciencealert.com/cancer), and more than three-quarters were women, so future research needs to be expanded to include other groups of people.\n\nAll that said, it's a solid step towards understanding more about the benefits of brown fat and how it could be more readily activated. Each of the findings here is a foundation that other studies can build on.\n\n\"The unique reverse translational approach of this study, enabled by large clinical datasets and next-generation analytical tools, provides a much-needed clinical rationale for exploring brown adipose tissue as a therapeutic target in humans across a spectrum of diseases,\" [says](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/blood-pressure-drug-may-activate-health-promoting-brown-fat) Griffin Rodgers, director of the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, who wasn't involved in the research.\n\nThe research has been published in *[Nature](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11162-7)*.\n\nThis article was fact-checked by [Peter Dockrill](https://www.sciencealert.com/peter-dockrill) and edited by [Peter Dockrill](https://www.sciencealert.com/peter-dockrill). While we pride ourselves on our process, we are only human. If you spot a mistake, [please let us know](https://www.sciencealert.com/contact-us).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brown-fat-can-be-beneficial-and-blood-pressure-meds-could-activate-it", "canonical_source": "https://www.sciencealert.com/brown-fat-can-be-beneficial-for-the-body-and-a-blood-pressure-drug-could-turn-it-on", "published_at": "2026-10-18 16:42:56+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-18 16:47:58.212680+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "machine-learning", "ai-research"], "entities": ["Rockefeller University", "Nature", "losartan", "Nicolás Gómez-Banoy"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brown-fat-can-be-beneficial-and-blood-pressure-meds-could-activate-it", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brown-fat-can-be-beneficial-and-blood-pressure-meds-could-activate-it.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brown-fat-can-be-beneficial-and-blood-pressure-meds-could-activate-it.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brown-fat-can-be-beneficial-and-blood-pressure-meds-could-activate-it.jsonld"}}