title: Leptin in heart failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the study of heart failure (HF), biomarkers have served as an important tool for diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic assessment. Their main categories in the area of HF are markers of ventricular dysfunction, inflammation, metabolism, neurohormones, oxidative stress, myocardial injury and extracellular matrix remodeling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Leptin contributes to the modulation of metabolism, respiratory control and inflammation, which are factors associated with cardiovascular disease. Serum levels of leptin in patients with HF have shown conflicting results in previous studies. Most studies have suggested that serum leptin levels may be increased in patients without cachexia. On the other hand, leptin levels are decreased in patients with advanced HF and cardiac cachexia or specific HF etiologies such as Chagas' disease. Other studies have showed that leptin levels were related to exercise intolerance. The only exception of the direct correlation of serum leptin levels with severity of CHF is present in CHF with cardiac cachexia, because patients with cardiac cachexia have plasma leptin concentrations lower than those without cardiac cachexia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings can make leptin an important diagnostic and prognostic marker for HF and be included in routine investigation of patients with HF.
authors.affiliation: Heart Institute, São Paulo, Brazil. jmbemfica@hotmail.com
authors.forename: João Marcos
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Barbosa-Ferreira
authors.forename: Fábio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dabarian
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mady
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D020738:Leptin