Change in medial frontal cerebral metabolite concentrations following bariatric surgery

Obesity is associated with adverse effects on brain health, including an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Changes in cerebral metabolism may underlie or precede structural and functional brain changes. While bariatric surgery is known to be effective in inducing weight loss and improving obesity‐related medical comorbidities, few studies have examined whether it may be able to improve brain metabolism. In the present study, we examined changes in cerebral metabolite concentrations in participants with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery. Thirty‐five patients with obesity (body mass index ≥ 35 kg/m2) were recruited from a bariatric surgery candidate nutrition class. They completed single voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at baseline (presurgery) and within 1 year postsurgery. Spectra were obtained from a large medial frontal brain region using a PRESS sequence on a 3‐T Siemens Verio scanner. The acquisition parameters were TR = 3000 ms and TE = 37 ms. Tissue‐corrected metabolite concentrations were determined using Osprey. Paired t‐tests were used to examine within‐subject change in metabolite concentrations, and correlations were used to relate these changes to other health‐related outcomes, including weight loss and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), a measure of blood sugar levels. Bariatric surgery was associated with a reduction in cerebral choline‐containing compounds (Cho; t [34] = − 3.79, p