Rethinking Alzheimer's Disease: How Fat Tissue May Hold Clues to Systemic Issues

A new Houston Methodist study offers a clearer picture of how Alzheimer's disease may influence the body far beyond the brain — specifically by interfering with the way nerves and blood vessels communicate inside fat tissue.

The findings suggest Alzheimer's may quietly undermine key metabolic processes, potentially worsening common cardiovascular and endocrine conditions that often accompany cognitive decline.

The research, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, is the first to document how Alzheimer's disease disrupts intra-adipose neurovascular contact — the physical interface where sympathetic nerves and blood vessels align to regulate fat metabolism.

While Alzheimer's is typically studied in the context of memory loss and neurodegeneration, this work broadens the lens to show how the disease may also trigger dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary processes such as blood pressure, heart rate and metabolic activity.

Led by Stephen Wong, Ph.D., the John S. Dunn Presidential Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Engineering, the research team used advanced three-dimensional imaging to examine adipose tissue in mouse models of Alzheimer's.

High-resolution reconstructions revealed structural breakdowns in the neurovascular bundles that support metabolic regulation. These bundles include sympathetic nerves that drive lipolysis and coordinate hormonal signals essential for maintaining energy balance.

"By disrupting the connection between the nervous system and fat tissue, the disease may impair the body's ability to manage energy," said Li Yang, Ph.D., a research associate and key contributor to the study.

This loss of neurovascular integrity could offer a biological explanation for why individuals with Alzheimer's frequently face comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

If fat tissue can no longer receive or relay proper autonomic signals, systemic health may deteriorate in parallel with cognitive decline.

According to Dr. Wong and co-author Jianting Sheng, Ph.D., the findings open the door to new research into whether stabilizing autonomic function — or preserving neurovascular structures in fat — could help improve overall outcomes for patients with Alzheimer's disease.