Subject characteristics for all subjects, the intervention group with Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) On and Off (n = 10) and for the group with VNS during thermoneutral (VNS-TN) conditions and cold exposure (VNS-Cold) (n = 5).

<p>P-values shown for unpaired t-tests between VNS-On/Off and VNS-TN/Cold. * P<0.05.</p

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) during active and inactive VNS in relation to BAT activity.

<p><b>A</b>. Individual responses upon VNS intervention. Notice all but one (marked line) subjects decreased energy expenditure upon deactivation of the VNS (subject that increased energy expenditure also described in Results section). <b>B</b>. Mean group BMR upon VNS intervention. <b>C.</b> The change in energy expenditure (Δ Energy Expenditure) upon VNS intervention (On/Off) correlated to the change in BAT activity. One subject (open dot) showed a high increase in energy expenditure upon VNS intervention. This subject was confirmed as an statistical outlier in the exponential growth equation shown and therefore excluded from the equation. Values shown are means + S.E.M. Significance shown for paired t-test in VNS intervention group consisting of 4 males and six females. * P<0.05</p

FDG-PET-CT images of intervention group and cold exposed subjects.

<p>Transaxial and coronal CT, PET and PET-CT fused images of VNS-On and VNS-Off from a subject in the VNS-On/Off group and images from a subject in the VNS-TN/Cold group during thermoneutral conditions (TN) and cold exposure (Cold). PET-CT image shown with and without Volume-Of-Interest (VOI) cubes for determination of activity. The white line in the coronal image indicates the transaxial slice shown above.</p

FDG-PET-CT activity of different tissue types upon VNS intervention.

<p>SUV^Mean values for Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT), all muscle (Muscle), deltoid muscle (Deltoid), biceps muscle (Biceps), triceps muscle (Triceps), erector spinae muscle at the level of vertebrae C7 (C7), T8 (T8), L3 (L3), subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT Sc), visceral white adipose tissue (WAT Visc), the liver (Liver) and the brain at the level of the cerebellum (Brain). <b>A.</b> Comparison of activity during VNS-On and VNS-Off. <b>B.</b> Comparison of activity between VNS-On, VNS-Off and VNS-Cold. Values shown are mean + S.E.M. * P<0.05 for paired t-tests between VNS-On and VNS-Off. # P<0.05 for one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Bonferroni correction between VNS-On, VNS-Off and VNS-Cold.</p

Energy expenditure, core and skin temperatures, skin perfusion and Standard Uptake Values (SUV^Mean) for Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT), all muscles analyzed (Muscle), deltoid muscle (Deltoid), biceps muscle (Biceps), triceps muscle (Triceps), erector spinae muscle at the level of vertebrae C7 (C7), T8 (T8), L3 (L3), subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT Sc), visceral white adipose tissue (WAT Visc), the liver (Liver) and the brain at the level of the cerebellum (Brain).

<p>AU denotes Arbitrary Units for skin perfusion. * P<0.05, ** P<0.001.</p

Medication use per patient.

<p>Medication use per patient.</p