title: New hormones to predict the severity of gallstone-induced acute pancreatitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin in rat models of acute pancreatitis (AP) have been investigated in several experimental studies. However, there are very few clinical studies addressing the connection between hormone levels and AP. A few recent studies investigating the changes in ghrelin and leptin levels in patients with AP have been reported; however, our study is the first clinical study to investigate the change of nesfatin-1 levels in patients with gallstone-induced AP.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients were enrolled in this study, eight of which presented with severe AP. Two blood samples were obtained from each study patient. The first blood samples were obtained at patient admission to the hospital and the second was obtained at patient discharge. All samples were collected after at least 6 h of fasting. Plasma nesfatin-1, leptin, and ghrelin levels were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all 40 patients, nesfatin-1 and leptin levels were higher at admission and had decreased at discharge. In contrast, the ghrelin levels at discharge were significantly higher than those at admission. Only the changes in these hormones in the mild AP group were significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Levels of these hormones were altered during the course of gallstone-induced AP. These changes might be associated with the clinical outcomes of the disease. To clarify whether the magnitude of the change in hormone levels at AP onset can be used as a biomarkers to predict the severity of the disease requires further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakır, Turkey. bvulger@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Burak Veli
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Ülger
authors.forename: Mesut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gül
authors.forename: Ömer
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Uslukaya
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oğuz
authors.forename: Zübeyir
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bozdağ
authors.forename: Hatice
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yüksel
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Böyük
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D042882:Gallstones / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications*; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D000080866:Nucleobindins; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000209:etiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D054439:Ghrelin; D020738:Leptin; C000630650:NUCB2 protein, human; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C000630652:Nucb1 protein, rat; D000080866:Nucleobindins