title: Obestatin: a new element for mineral metabolism and inflammation in patients on hemodialysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obestatin plays a key role in the process of energy balance maintenance with an anorectic effect. The main aim of the study was to evaluate obestatin in uremic patients to determine whether it is correlated with nutritional and inflammatory status.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied plasma obestatin in uremic patients (n = 50) undergoing hemodialysis therapy and in healthy subjects. Plasma obestatin was measured using an ELISA kit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Obestatin levels in uremic patients were lower than in healthy subjects (p < 0.0001). Patients with a body mass index (BMI) >23 had lower obestatin levels than those with a BMI <23 (p = 0.001). After multivariate analysis, direct correlations were maintained between obestatin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (β = 0.68, p < 0.0001) and total alkaline phosphatases (β = 0.30, p = 0.03), while inverse correlations were found with iron (β = -0.32, p = 0.002) and calcium-phosphorous product (β = -0.40, p = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the present observational data, obestatin might be implicated in the inflammatory state and the disturbances of calcium/phosphate metabolism of hemodialysis patients. However, further studies are warranted to determine whether this hormone plays a key role in contributing to malnutrition and to the chronic inflammatory process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lacquaniti
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bolignano
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Donato
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chirico
authors.forename: Adolfo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.forename: Saverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loddo
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buemi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000139:chemically induced; D008875:Middle Aged; D008903:Minerals / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010710:Phosphates / Q000097:blood; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D014511:Uremia / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D054439:Ghrelin; D008903:Minerals; D010710:Phosphates; D002118:Calcium