NIH-funded study: losartan and brown fat
An NIH-funded study reports that losartan, a blood pressure medicine, raised brown fat activity in mice and cells; the work is early-stage laboratory research.
Key points
- An NIH news release dated 14 October 2026 describes an NIH-funded study of losartan and brown fat.
- The researchers first linked brown fat to angiotensin receptor blockers by analysing patient data.
- Losartan increased brown fat activity in mice and the metabolic activity of brown fat cells.
- This is US research news, not UK guidance.
What was announced
A US National Institutes of Health (NIH) news release dated 14 October 2026 describes an NIH-funded study in which scientists found that losartan, a common blood pressure medicine, increased brown fat activity and boosted metabolism in mice.
The researchers first linked brown fat to the drug class called angiotensin receptor blockers by analysing data from more than 100,000 patients.
When they tested losartan directly on brown fat cells, it increased the cells' metabolic activity.
What it means
The findings come from patient data analysis and from experiments in mice and cells.
The lead author suggests the approach could stimulate brown fat even in people with normal blood pressure, although the experiments so far were in mice and cells.
This is research news from a US agency; it does not change UK guidance on blood pressure treatment.
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