title: Ghrelin and lipid levels in panic disorder before and after treatment and their relationship with agoraphobia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We aimed to evaluate serum ghrelin (GHR) levels and lipid profile in panic disorder (PD), with and without agoraphobia, and to compare these parameters before and after treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  The GHR and lipid profiles were measured in blood samples taken from 31 PD patients with agoraphobia, 22 PD patients without agoraphobia, and 53 control group subjects. 23 of the 53 patients who were prescribed 20 to 40 mg/day paroxetine had continued treatment. The 23 patients who had continued treatment were measured again at the end of twelve weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The GHR and triglyceride (TRG), total cholesterol (Total-C), low-density lipoproteins (LDL-C), and very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL-C) levels were higher in the PD with agoraphobia group than the PD without agoraphobia and control groups. The 23 patients that had continued their treatment were re-evaluated, and the serum GHR, Total-C levels, and BMI after treatment were significantly decreased, compared to the values before treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There may be a pathophysiological relationship between the GHR and lipid profiles that interact with each other in PD. In fact, this relationship was more marked in PD with agoraphobia than in PD without agoraphobia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Uskudar University, 34662 Istanbul, Turkey, isilggul@gmail.com; dr.isilggul@mynet.
authors.forename: Isil Gogcegoz
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Gul
authors.forename: Birgul Elbozan
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Cumurcu
authors.forename: Rifat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karlidag
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Turkoz
mesh_terms: D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000523:psychology*; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D054439:Ghrelin; D008055:Lipids; D017374:Paroxetine