title: Weight loss, body fat mass, and leptin in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Weight loss is a common problem in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the causative mechanisms behind this weight loss are unclear. We compared 26 PD patients with sex and age matched healthy controls. Examinations were repeated at baseline, after one and after two years. Body fat mass was measured by Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Seventy three per cent of the PD patients lost body weight. Loss of body fat mass constituted a considerable part of the loss of body weight. In the patients who lost weight, serum leptin levels were lower than in those who did not lose weight. The relationship between low body fat mass and low leptin levels seems to be relevant, at least for female PD patients. It is reasonable to believe that low leptin levels in these patients could be secondary to the decreased body fat mass.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. birgitta.lorefalt@liu.se
authors.forename: Birgitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lorefält
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Toss
authors.forename: Ann-Kathrine
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Granérus
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000379:methods; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D007980:Levodopa / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay / Q000379:methods; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D020738:Leptin; D007980:Levodopa