Autonomic, immunological and endocrine influences on adipose tissue as an organ

Abstract

White Adipose Tissue (WAT) is typically regarded as a passive storage deposit of excess fat. However, recent research suggests that WAT behaves like an organ system that interacts with the autonomous nervous, endocrinological and immunological systems. Therefore, it is possible that WAT acts as a regulatory organ that keeps the body in homeostasis. This cross-sectional study uses physiological data from 30 patients at the Pinewood Natural Health Centre in Toronto, Canada to derive a description of the role of WAT in the mediation of homeostasis. Statistical methods derive a formula describing the dynamic congruence that contributes to a systems medicine (SM) understanding of the organism. Multiple variables including body parameters, composition, and metabolism, heart rate variability and the immune, autonomous, neural, and endocrinologicial systems were measured and correlated using multiple regression analysis. The null hypothesis was that no variables would correlate; the alternative hypothesis was that at least two variables that would correlate with each other to demonstrate congruence and order. This analysis found strong correlations with parameters of the immune system and metabolism and few correlations with the autonomous nervous system. This suggests that despite the body’s complexity, not all systems may contribute equally strongly to overall homeostasis