Skip to main content
Tessa NewsLink
Paste a health news link, or browse
Latest checks

Source study found

Story checked

Scientists Discover a Surprising New Effect of a Popular Blood Pressure Drug (opens in a new tab)

scitechdaily.com · 2026-10-18

Short answerEvidenceSource

Short answer

Mixed

Mixed.

The claims we could check match the study, but some claims were not covered by the evidence reviewed.

  • 3 supported
  • 3 not covered

Checked against the study summary. The full text wasn't available, so some details couldn't be settled either way.

Share this check

Follow the evidence trail
1
2

NewsLink checks it

Mixed

Every claim we could check holds up. Three of six claims match the study. This overall rating is based only on the claims we could check. Three claims the study doesn't address.

  • 3 supported
  • 3 not covered
Open claim evidence
3
Source paper

Source layer

The 2 papers the story cites

Source study separated from background citations.

The research anchor for the report.

Then inspect each claim

Evidence layer

Claim by claim

Each claim gets a verdict. Expand it to see the evidence directly below.

6 claims in this story

Showing all 6 claimsChoose a verdict to focus the list.

Claim 1 of 6Not coveredIn cultured brown fat cells, losartan directly increased metabolic activity through molecular interactions distinct from those responsible for lowering blood pressure.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The profile supports only a high-level proof-of-concept statement that losartan increased brown adipocyte activity. At abstract depth it does not specify cultured brown fat cells, directness of action, metabolic assay details, or molecular interactions distinct from blood-pressure pathways.

1

Study evidence

Losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure (reported as proof-of-concept).

“As proof of concept, we showed that the angiotensin receptor blocker losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure.”
Claim 2 of 6Not coveredHealthy mice treated with losartan used more energy, consumed more oxygen, and produced more carbon dioxide while maintaining steady body weight.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The abstract-level profile supports increased whole-body energy expenditure after losartan, but it does not identify the experimental system as healthy mice or report oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, or steady body weight. Those details require deeper evidence than the supplied abstract profile.

1

Study evidence

Losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure (reported as proof-of-concept).

“As proof of concept, we showed that the angiotensin receptor blocker losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure.”
Claim 3 of 6Not coveredThe study linked brown fat to lower rates of anxiety and depression, which the article says was reported for the first time in this study.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The profile supports an association between detectable BAT and lower prevalence of psychiatric diseases broadly. It does not verify at abstract depth that the specific outcomes were anxiety and depression, nor does it support the novelty claim that this was reported for the first time in this study.

1

Study evidence

Across a cohort of 101,243 patients, cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases were reported as less prevalent in people with detectable brown adipose tissue (BAT).

“Here we leveraged big data and artificial intelligence to systematically define the clinical impact of BAT in a cohort of 101,243 patients from a large cancer centre.”
Claim 4 of 6SupportedLosartan could have a second use in activating brown fat, a tissue that burns energy to produce heat and is linked to better cardiovascular health.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The abstract-level profile supports a speculative drug-repurposing frame: ARB use was associated with BAT presence, and losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure as proof of concept. It also supports BAT as energy-burning/heat-producing tissue linked to favorable cardiometabolic findings. Because the headline is hedged as 'could,' it does not outrun the evidence at this depth.

1

Study evidence

Across a cohort of 101,243 patients, cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases were reported as less prevalent in people with detectable brown adipose tissue (BAT).

“Here we leveraged big data and artificial intelligence to systematically define the clinical impact of BAT in a cohort of 101,243 patients from a large cancer centre.”
2

Study evidence

Higher BAT activity was associated with lower odds of cardiometabolic diseases.

“Using a machine learning approach, we semi-automatically quantified BAT activity in approximately 8,700 patients”
Claim 5 of 6SupportedResearchers analyzing medical records and PET/CT scans of more than 100,000 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center patients found that people taking angiotensin receptor blockers, including losartan, were more likely to have brown fat detected on scans.View evidenceHide evidence

As statedmore than 100,000 patients

Why this verdict

The profile supports the main association: in a 101,243-patient large cancer-centre cohort, medication-usage analysis found ARB use positively associated with BAT presence. The abstract-level profile does not itself verify every story detail, such as PET/CT wording, the Memorial Sloan Kettering name, or a losartan-specific human medication effect distinct from the ARB class, but the central ARB-BAT association and cohort size are supported.

1

Study evidence

Across a cohort of 101,243 patients, cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases were reported as less prevalent in people with detectable brown adipose tissue (BAT).

“Here we leveraged big data and artificial intelligence to systematically define the clinical impact of BAT in a cohort of 101,243 patients from a large cancer centre.”
2

Study evidence

Angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) use was positively associated with presence of brown adipose tissue (BAT).

“Analysis of medication usage demonstrated that angiotensin receptor blocker use was positively associated with BAT presence.”
Claim 6 of 6SupportedThe article says the findings do not establish that giving losartan to people to stimulate brown fat would improve their health.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

This caveat is consistent with the profile. The human medication and BAT findings are observational, subject to confounding and selection bias, and the losartan work is described only as proof of concept, with unclear experimental system and no direct evidence that giving losartan to people to stimulate BAT improves health.

1

Study evidence

Across a cohort of 101,243 patients, cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases were reported as less prevalent in people with detectable brown adipose tissue (BAT).

“Here we leveraged big data and artificial intelligence to systematically define the clinical impact of BAT in a cohort of 101,243 patients from a large cancer centre.”
2

Study evidence

Angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) use was positively associated with presence of brown adipose tissue (BAT).

“Analysis of medication usage demonstrated that angiotensin receptor blocker use was positively associated with BAT presence.”
Then look for missing context

Context layer

What the story left out

Important study details the story did not include.

  • Machine-learning semi-automated quantification of BAT activity in approximately 8,700 patients, including depot-specific activity such as axillary BAT, associated with lower cardiometabolic disease odds and healthier white fat distribution.

    This is a primary contribution in the profile, but the story summary as presented does not mention the ~8,700-patient ML quantification subset, depot-specific/axillary BAT activity, or healthier white fat distribution findings.

    From ML-enabled secondary-data phenotyping

  • Associations of BAT presence/activity with favorable glycemic parameters, lipid profiles, inflammatory markers, and echocardiographic indices.

    The story broadly says BAT is linked to better cardiovascular health, but it does not reflect these specific biomarker and echocardiographic findings.

    From retrospective secondary data analysis

  • Generalizability is limited because the cohort was drawn from a single large cancer centre; selection bias may affect applicability to broader community populations.

    The story identifies the patient source, but its caveats as presented do not flag cancer-centre selection and limited generalizability as interpretation-changing limitations.

    From Retrospective cohort phenome-wide association (EHR-based) study; retrospective observational medication-association anal

5 things the story did carry across
  • Large retrospective cancer-centre cohort of 101,243 patients used to associate detectable BAT with disease prevalence, including lower cardiovascular and psychiatric disease prevalence.
  • Medication-usage analysis found angiotensin receptor blocker use positively associated with BAT presence.
  • Proof-of-concept experimental evidence that losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure.
  • Human findings are retrospective and observational, so they do not establish causality.
  • The experimental losartan evidence is proof-of-concept only; the abstract does not specify experimental system, sample size, controls, effect magnitude, or applicability to humans.
Then read the study layer

Study layer

Study at a glance

Scan the study first. Expand only the parts you want to inspect.

Pieces of work

5

Evidence read

study summary

Lead result

secondary data

1Lead resultsecondary dataDefine the clinical impact of brown adipose tissue (BAT) presence across diagnoses using a very large patient cohort (big-data phenotyping).Retrospective cohort phenome-wide association (EHR-based) studyExpand

In plain English

Retrospective, EHR-based phenome-wide association analysis in 101,243 patients from a large cancer centre found that people with detectable brown adipose tissue (BAT) had lower prevalence of several diagnoses, with cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases highlighted as less common in the BAT-positive group. The study used big-data approaches and artificial intelligence to perform an unbiased scan across diagnoses.

Key findings

  • Across a cohort of 101,243 patients, cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases were reported as less prevalent in people with detectable brown adipose tissue (BAT).
  • The analyses were conducted in a very large cohort (101,243 patients) using big-data and artificial intelligence methods to perform an unbiased phenome-wide assessment of clinical conditions associated with BAT presence.
“Here we leveraged big data and artificial intelligence to systematically define the clinical impact of BAT in a cohort of 101,243 patients from a large cancer centre.”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Retrospective, observational design limits causal inference.
  • Study population drawn from a cancer centre; findings may not generalize to non-cancer or community populations.
  • Abstract lacks numerical effect estimates, model specifications, and details of covariate adjustment, hindering assessment of the magnitude and robustness of associations.
  • Potential for residual confounding and selection bias inherent to EHR-based analyses.
2secondary dataDevelop/use an AI/ML approach to semi-automatically quantify BAT activity from clinical imaging in a subset, and relate BAT activity (including depot-specific activity such as axillary) to cardiometabolic outcomes and fat distribution.ML-enabled secondary-data phenotypingExpand

In plain English

The study applied a machine-learning–enabled, semi-automated pipeline to quantify brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity from clinical imaging in ~8,700 patients and tested associations between continuous/semi-quantitative BAT activity (including depot-specific activity, notably axillary) and cardiometabolic disease odds and white fat distribution, finding that higher BAT activity—especially in the axillary depot—was associated with lower odds of cardiometabolic diseases and healthier white fat distribution.

Key findings

  • Higher BAT activity was associated with lower odds of cardiometabolic diseases.
  • BAT activity in the axillary depot showed especially strong association with lower cardiometabolic disease odds and healthier white fat distribution.
“Using a machine learning approach, we semi-automatically quantified BAT activity in approximately 8,700 patients”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Abstract does not report imaging modality, ML model type, training/validation approach, or performance metrics for the BAT activity quantification.
  • Unclear selection criteria and representativeness of the ~8,700-patient imaging subset relative to the larger cohort.
  • Observational design limits causal inference; potential for residual confounding and reverse causation.

2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

3secondary dataAssociate BAT presence/activity with detailed clinical biomarkers and physiologic readouts (glycaemia, lipids, inflammatory markers, echocardiographic indices).retrospective secondary data analysisExpand

In plain English

In a retrospective big-data cohort from a large cancer centre, presence (and higher activity) of brown adipose tissue (BAT) was associated cross-sectionally with more favourable glycaemic measures, lipid profiles, lower inflammatory markers, and more favourable echocardiographic indices.

Key findings

  • People with BAT exhibited more favourable glycaemic parameters, lipid profiles, inflammatory markers, and echocardiographic indices.
“People with BAT also exhibited more favourable glycaemic parameters, lipid profiles, inflammatory markers and echocardiographic indices.”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Unclear temporal relationship between BAT measurement and biomarker/echocardiography data; causality cannot be inferred.
  • Methods for extracting and harmonizing laboratory and echocardiography measures from clinical records are not described.
  • Subset used for BAT activity quantification (~8,700) may not represent the full cohort; representativeness for biomarker/echo analyses is unspecified.

2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

4secondary dataIdentify medications associated with BAT presence (with emphasis on angiotensin receptor blockers) to motivate drug-repurposing hypotheses.retrospective observational medication-association analysisExpand

In plain English

In an observational medication-usage analysis within a cohort drawn from a large cancer centre (n = 101,243), the authors report that angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) use was positively associated with presence of brown adipose tissue (BAT). The paper also reports ML-based semi-automated quantification of BAT activity in ~8,700 patients used in related analyses, and presents losartan experiments (increasing brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure) as a proof-of-concept for ARB repurposing to activate BAT.

Key findings

  • Angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) use was positively associated with presence of brown adipose tissue (BAT).
“Analysis of medication usage demonstrated that angiotensin receptor blocker use was positively associated with BAT presence.”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Study population from a single large cancer centre may limit generalizability to broader populations.
  • The association reported is observational and does not on its own establish causality; experimental losartan results are presented separately as proof-of-concept.

2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

5otherProvide proof-of-concept experimental validation that the angiotensin receptor blocker losartan can increase brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure.Expand

In plain English

The authors report a proof-of-concept experimental result that the angiotensin receptor blocker losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure. The abstract does not specify the experimental system, sample sizes, measurement methods, or effect magnitudes.

Key findings

  • Losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure (reported as proof-of-concept).
“As proof of concept, we showed that the angiotensin receptor blocker losartan increased brown adipocyte activity and whole-body energy expenditure.”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Unclear whether the intervention was performed in humans, animals, or in vitro, which affects applicability to clinical repurposing.

2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

Finally, the search trail

Method layer

NewsLink found the paper. Tessa takes you deeper.

NewsLink checks the story. Tessa is where you inspect the paper, authors, evidence, and research context.

Papers considered

The selected paper, plus nearby candidates.

PubMed, Crossref, Europe PMC · 15 candidate papers

Candidate

Vasomotor effects of noradrenaline, 5-hydroxytryptamine, angiotensin II, bradykinin, histamine, and acetylcholine on the bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) basilar artery.

Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Toxicology & Pharmacology : CBP · 2021 · PubMed

Tessa (opens in a new tab)Source (opens in a new tab)
Candidate

Prevalence and factors associated with brown adipose tissue detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT in Hong Kong Chinese

Crossref

Source (opens in a new tab)

And 9 more candidates considered.