Mitochondria, autonomic function and obesity

ABL in Arch Physiol Biochem

In our recent study published few days ago in Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, we evaluated the link between cardiovascular autonomic reflexes and mitochondrial function in overweight and normal-weight adults. We demonstrated here a week trend for a negative correlation between blood pressure responses to isometric handgrip test and FGF21, a surrogate biomarker of mitochondrial function, in the overweight group. Although excess body weight appears to trigger sympathetic overactivity in overweight adults, autonomic dysregulation might not be strongly associated with notable changes in serum FGF21. Nevertheless, well-powered longitudinal studies linking clinical markers of mitochondrial viability and cardiovascular autonomics dysfunction are highly warranted to elucidate the role of mitochondria in autonomic disorders.