Epidemiological evidence suggests that the consumption of a diet high in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is associated with the development of leptin resistance and obesity. We aim to examine the central effect of n-6 PUFA, arachidonic acid (ARA) on leptin sensitivity and leptin-regulated hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism. We found that intracerebroventricular injection of ARA (25 nmo...

Leptin and adiponectin represent two newly discovered adipose tissue derived hormones with important roles in energy homeostasis and insulin resistance. Their interrelations with the manifestations of the HIV associated metabolic syndrome and specific somatomorphic changes i.e. fat redistribution is reviewed. A synopsis of published studies is presented and the potential role of leptin and adip...

Leptin, a 16-kDa hormone identified and cloned in 1994, is synthesized and secreted specifically from white adipose cells.1 Leptin has a variety of important central and peripheral actions to regulate energy balance and metabolism, fertility, and bone metabolism that are mediated by specific cell surface leptin receptors.2,3 Importantly, leptin may also exert actions related to cardiovascular h...

Hypertrophy in Experimental Animals and Humans To the Editor: Barouch et al1 recently published a well-designed study demonstrating that left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) occurs in mice that are either leptin-deficient (ob/ob) or leptin-resistant (db/db). They also found that systemic administration of leptin to the leptin-deficient animals attenuated LVH more than would be predicted by the le...

The metabolic syndrome comprises a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors, with insulin resistance and adiposity as its central features. Identifying individuals with metabolic syndrome is important due to its association with an increased risk of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Attention has focused on the visceral adipose tissue production of cytokines (adipokines) in me...

Although primary cilia are well established as important sensory and signaling structures, their function in most tissues remains unknown. Obesity is a feature associated with some syndromes of cilia dysfunction, such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) and Alström syndrome, as well as in several cilia mutant mouse models. Recent data indicate that obesity in BBS mutant mice is due to defects in lep...

Leptin regulates a constellation of neuroendocrine processes that control energy homeostasis. The infusion of leptin in rodents lacking endogenous leptin promotes physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) and improves insulin signaling, whereas hyperleptinemia is associated with physical inactivity and insulin resistance (IR). We tested whether baseline leptin levels predict changes in PAEE a...

AIM To determine the role of leptin system in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development by delineating the changes in serum levels of leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R). METHODS Blood samples were collected from 30 consecutive patients with liver-biopsy-proven NAFLD and 30 patients with cholecystolithiasis (stationary phase) as controls. Serum leptin levels were determined...

It remains controversial whether or not a correlation exists between serum leptin levels and insulin resistance, and, if such a correlation does exist, whether it is independent of adiposity. To investigate the possible existence of an independent correlation, we have assessed serum leptin levels and insulin resistance in Japanese diabetic and non-diabetic subjects by means of Homeostatic Model...