title: Serum leptin levels in post-hepatitis liver cirrhosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little information is available on the involvement of leptin in clinical conditions associated with malnutrition, such as liver cirrhosis. The behaviour of serum leptin in patients with different Child-Pugh score, post-hepatitis liver cirrhosis and insulin sensitivity has therefore been investigated and compared with that in alcoholic Child C patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-four patients, aged 51 to 62 years, with different degrees of post-hepatitis cirrhosis or Child C alcoholic cirrhosis were compared with 15 age-matched control subjects. Body composition was estimated by skinfold thickness. Serum leptin, glucose and insulin were assayed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In post-hepatitis patients a significant reduction in leptin levels was observed as the Child-Pugh score worsened (men: 2.94+/-1.61 in Child C vs 6.78+/-2.49 ng/ml in controls, p<0.001; women: 4.14+/-0.66 in Child C vs 16.16+/-3.90 ng/ml in controls, p<0.02). Conversely, only the men with alcoholic liver cirrhosis showed a significant difference in leptin concentration compared to controls (8.5+/-2.1 vs 16.4+/-7.9 kg, p<0.05). In particular, Child C, alcoholic cirrhotic women had a significantly (p=0.03) higher level of leptin than post-hepatitis matched women. A positive correlation was observed between leptin and fat mass (men R2=0.59, p<0.0001 and women R2=0.65, p<0.0001). While fasting levels of serum leptin correlated significantly with insulin concentrations in controls, a similar relationship was not observed in the cirrhotic population, which displayed higher insulin concentrations than controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In contrast to findings in alcoholic cirrhotic women, low leptin values in post-hepatitis cirrhotic patients mainly represent the expression of a reduced fat mass.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Medicina Interna e Geriatria, Catholic University, Rome, Italy. agreco@rm.unicatt.it
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mingrone
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Favuzzi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Capristo
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gniuli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Addolorato
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brunani
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cavagnin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gasbarrini
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D005215:Fasting / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology*; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin