Effects of Acipimox on Mitochondrial Function in Obesity

The purpose of the study is to examine whether a medication called acipimox can improve your body's mitochondria. Mitochondria are the "power house" of the cell and make energy for your body. Obesity is associated with increased risk for developing diabetes. However, the investigators do not know how obesity leads to diabetes. Previous studies have shown levels of fat in the blood (free fatty acids or FFA) are higher in obesity, and elevated FFA can affect how our body uses glucose and responds to insulin. Recent studies have shown that changes in mitochondria may be involved in the development of diabetes and may be affected by FFA. The investigators propose to improve the function of mitochondria in obese people with pre-diabetes by treating with acipimox, a medication which decreases FFA. The investigators will use state of the art techniques to evaluate the mitochondria, including a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to measure function of mitochondria in muscle.