Obesity is a new pandemic and its cardiovascular and metabolic complications will be more evident in the near future. The need to elucidate the structure and function of adipose tissue is becoming more prominent. Body fat mass has long become not just a matter of quantification, but an area of great interest due to the paracrine, endocrine and autocrine properties of its elements. The novel adipokines are under intense investigation and omentin has come into the centre of interest due to its favourable effects on inflammation and glucose homeostasis. Not all aspects of omentin have been clarified. This review tries to focus on the current knowledge of these aspects and the future perspectives of this novel adipokine.
Keywords: Cardiovascular effects; Inflammation; Insulin resistance; Novel adipokines; Obesity; Omentin.
Copyright © 2014 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.