Serum levels of lipids and lipoproteins in Syrian patients with B-thalassemia major

Evaluation serum lipids, lipoprotein [a], apolipoprotein A1, apolipoprotein B and total antioxidant status [TAS] in syrian patients with beta-thalassemia major. This study was carried out at Damascus University [Biochemical Laboratories of Medicine and Pharmacy Colleges], Syria between May 2002 and April 2003. This study included 30 patients with beta-thalassemia major, aged between 1.5 and 16-years. All patients had undergone regular blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy [through thalassemia center, Damascus, Syria]; also 30 control subjects matched for age were studied. Serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, apolipoprotein A1 [apo A1], apolipoprotein B [apo B], lipoprotein [a] [Lp[a]] and total antioxidant status [TAS] were determined. Blood samples were withdrawn after at least 12-hours of patients fasting and before the blood transfusion. beta-thalassemia major patients had significantly lower total cholesterol [TC], high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C] and lower density lipoprotein [LDL-C] compared with control [P<0.0001, P<0.0001, P<0.003]. While serum triglyceride [TG] and lipoprotein [a] [Lp[a]] levels were higher in b-thalassemia patients than in controls [P<0.0001]. The reduction was significant [P<0.0001], in apolipoprotein A1 [apo A1] but not significant [P=0.537] in apo B serum levels, in patients compared to control subjects. Total antioxidant status [TAS] values were lower in beta-thalassemia major patients than in controls. The results might suggest that beta- thalassemia may represent an interesting metabolic model: anemia, an activated macrophage system and defective liver function seem interrelated to the final serum lipoprotein pattern. This suggests that antioxidants counteract lipid peroxidation processes and have a protective effect against oxidative damage of red cells of beta-thalassemia patients

Relationship between serum leptin and obesity

Leptin, the product of the ob gene, is a hormone secreted by adipocytes. This study aimed to measure serum concentrations of leptin in normal - weight subjects [body mass index between 18 and 25] and obese subjects [body mass index greater than or equal to 30]. It is designed to support an important role for leptin in human metabolism and obesity. One hundred lean subjects aged [33.16 +/- 12.47] years and 193 obese subjects aged [38.6 +/- 13.5] years, and 73 obese non-insulin dependent diabetes aged [51.9 +/- 9.6] years were included in the study, where as obesity was defined as a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 serum leptin concentrations were measured using a newly developed radioimmunoassay. The mean +/- SD serum leptin concentrations were 25.99 +/- 15.4 ng per milliliter in the obese subjects and 5.84 +/- 5.27 ng per milliliter in the normal weight subjects [P