The Study
Human obesity is characterized by defective fat storage and enhanced muscle fatty acid oxidation, and trimetazidine gradually counteracts these abnormalities.
This study looked at how fat moves in and out of muscles and fat tissue in people who are obese versus those who aren't. It found patterns—like obese people burn more fat in their muscles—but it didn’t change anything to test if one thing causes another. So it shows what’s linked, not what causes what.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
When your body can't store fat in fat cells, it starts burning too much fat in your muscles instead — which can cause problems. A drug called trimetazidine helps muscles store more fat instead of burning it.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This means muscles are forced to burn more fat than they should, which may lead to insulin resistance; trimetazidine helps muscles switch from burning fat to storing it — a small but promising step.
- 2In obese people, muscle fat burning went up by 100%, and fat storage in fat tissue dropped by 70%.
- 3After one month of trimetazidine, muscle fat storage went up by 10%, and sugar use in muscle slightly increased.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism
Year
2011
Authors
M. Bucci, R. Borra, K. Någren, Romina Maggio, H. Tuunanen, V. Oikonen, S. Del Ry, T. Viljanen, M. Taittonen, Sara Rigazio, D. Giannessi, R. Parkkola, J. Knuuti, P. Nuutila, P. Iozzo
Related Content
Claims (5)
In obese adults, taking trimetazidine 35 mg daily for one month increases the rate at which fatty acids are stored as fat in muscle tissue and slightly increases glucose processing, indicating a change in how muscle uses energy.
In obese adults, muscle cells burn more fatty acids than in nonobese adults, while fat tissue stores fewer fatty acids, leading to excess fat accumulating in muscle and contributing to insulin resistance.
In obese adults, higher insulin resistance is associated with lower fat storage in muscle and fat tissue and higher fat burning in muscle.
In obese adults, taking trimetazidine for one month does not change fat burning, glucose use, fat tissue amount, or adipokine levels in the body, meaning the drug's metabolic effects are limited to skeletal muscle and do not affect the rest of the body.
In obese adults, fat cells under the skin take up less fatty acid per gram than fat cells around internal organs, but because there is much more subcutaneous fat overall, it handles more fatty acid uptake in total than visceral fat.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.