Serum levels of leptin and adiponectin in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: potential biomarkers

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD] occurs in 60% -95% of people with obesity. Understanding the pathogenesis of NAFLD is of great importance in ultimately finding a treatment, cure or prevention of this disease. The present study aimed to investigate the role of adipocytokines [leptin and adiponectin] in NAFLD and correlate them with different anthropometric and clinical variables as well as to investigate the relationship between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] and NAFLD. Thirty patients [9 males and 21 females] with NAFLD [their diagnosis was based on ultrasonographic finding of bright liver]. Their age was [Mean +/- SD] 38.00 +/- 10.42 years. A control group included fifteen healthy volunteers, who was gender, age and BMI matched. Serum levels of leptin, adiponectin, [hs- CRP], and lipid profile were assayed. NAFLD patients showed significantly higher BMI, AST/ALT ratio, serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, serum NEFFA levels, serum hs-CRP levels and significantly lower serum HDL-C and adiponectin levels in comparison to controls. Among NAFLD patients; these changes were significantly high in females than male patients. Serum leptin levels showed no significant difference between patients and controls. NAFLD patients with BMI >/= 30 and those with AST/ALT ratio >/= 1 showed significantly higher serum levels of NEFFA, leptin, hs-CRP and significantly lower serum levels of adiponectin in comparison to those with BMI<30 and AST/ALT ratio <1. To date adiponectin and hs-CRP has yielded the most promising results. Serum leptin has contradictory results so can not be used as a marker of NAFLD