title: The relation between peptide hormones and sex hormone in patients with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hormones can play a significant role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to compare levels of ghrelin, leptin, and testosterone hormones of MS patients with healthy subjects, and assess the relationship between levels of peptide hormone and sex hormones in MS patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  35 MS patients with definite relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) (male = 9, female = 26) and 13 healthy subjects (male = 4, female = 9) were enrolled in the study. Levels of serum ghrelin, leptin, and testosterone hormones were measured in this study. ANOVA and Pearson correlation were used for data analysis (P < 0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The female and male participants of the patient group were compared with the healthy group. No significant differences were found in serum of leptin, ghrelin, testosterone, ghrelin/leptin, and testosterone/leptin (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation coefficient showed that leptin had a significant negative correlation with the variability of testosterone (r = -1.00) in the healthy male group. Moreover, leptin had a significant positive correlation with the variability of BMI (r = 0.68) and weight (r = 0.59), at the 0.01 level (2-tailed), in the female patient group. In addition, in the healthy male group, ghrelin had a significant negative correlation with the variability of weight (r = -1.00).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to the results, there was no significant difference between peptide and sex hormones of MS patients and healthy persons. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between peptide and sex hormones of MS patients and healthy persons.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eftekhari
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Etemadifar
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.forename: Shahrzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baradaran
keywords: Ghrelin; Leptin; Multiple Sclerosis; Testosterone