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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: Lancet Neurol. 2014 Sep;13(9):913–923. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(14)70085-7

Figure 2.

Figure 2

WAT is an endocrine organ that secretes hundred of adipokines that influence multiple physiological processes to maintain homeostasis and respond to injury. WAT exists as subcutaneous, visceral and retroperitoneal depots, and has a stromal layer containing ADSCs. Amount of WAT is measured crudely in humans as BMI. BMI, on average, exhibits a dynamic trajectory with ageing. This trajectory is characterized by an adult life increase, followed by later life decrease. Generally, higher BMI or BMI increase is associated with the vascular risk that is common among overweight and obese adults. BMI decrease is associated with ageing and neurodegeneration. This reverse association is reflected in changing risk associations commonly observed between BMI and dementia/AD over the life course.