Does sweet turn sour? How aspartame aggravates atherosclerosis in a preclinical model.

Pepino, M Yanina; Amengual, Jaume · Cell Metab · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Aspartame, a low-calorie sweetener (LCS), was shown to be safe through extensive pre-clinical and clinical tests. However, epidemiological data link aspartame and other LCSs to higher cardiovascular risk. In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Wu et al.<sup>1</sup> show that aspartame accelerates atherosclerosis via a vagal-mediated insulin-dependent mechanism in a hyperlipidemic mouse model.

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