title: Leptin expression in HIV-infected patients during antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leptin is an adipokine with complex metabolic, neuroendocrine and immune functions. Our objective was to evaluate leptin serum levels in a cohort of Romanian HIV-infected patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy in relation to their immune-virological status, lipid and glucose metabolic abnormalities and the presence of metabolic syndrome (MS).
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled consecutive non-diabetic HIV-infected patients aged 18 and over on stable cART for at least 6 months. Blood samples were tested for: leptin, CD4 T cells count, HIV viral load and lipid panel.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 90 HIV-infected patients were included in the study: 50 males (55.6%) with a mean age of 33.3 years and 40 females with a mean age of 30.4 years. Most patients (74.4%) had HIV viral load below the limit of detection and the median CD4 count for the cohort was 476 (410) cells/cmm. More than one third of the patients (41.1%) had hypoleptinemia. The prevalence of MS was 13.3%. Hypoleptinemia was significantly more frequent in men. In a subset of patients with undetectable HIV viral load, the median leptin value was 0.6 (6.07) ng/mL in patients with poor immune recovery (CD4 count ≤ 200/cmm) compared to 2 (3.07) ng/mL for those with better immune response (CD4 count > 200/cmm), without statistical significance. The median values of leptin were similar for persons with and without MS criteria. HDL-cholesterol values were positively correlated to leptin values in a linear regression model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A significant proportion of patients in our study presented low levels of leptin; this finding was not associated with immune and virological parameters or the presence of MS. Hypoleptinemia was significantly correlated with lower levels of HDL-cholesterol, a key cardiovascular risk factor.
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Cătălin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tiliscan
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aramă
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Raluca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mihăilescu
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romani.
authors.forename: Daniela Ioana
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Munteanu
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Streinu-Cercel
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Daniela Adriana
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Ion
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihaela Andreea
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rădulescu
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Popescu
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD student, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Alina Elena
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Lobodan
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD student, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof.Dr. Matei Balş", Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Anca Ruxandra
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Negru
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Ştefan Sorin
authors.initials: ŞS
authors.lastname: Aramă
keywords: HDL-cholesterol; HIV; Leptin; antiretroviral therapy