Plasma levels of leptin in patients with chronic heart failure

ABSTRACT

Chronic heart failure [CHF] is a syndrome characterized by energy dysregulation. In this study, plasma levels of leptin, a protein hormone secreted by adipocytcs and involved in energy regulation, were determined in fourty patients with CHF divided into two equal groups; mild CHF patients, with New York Heart Association [NYHA] functional class 2, and severe CHF patients with NYHA functional class 3 or 4. Left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] as determined by echocardiography was < 45% in all patients. The study included also 20 healthy subjects matched for age, gender and body mass index, as controls. Plasma leptin levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. showed significant elevation in plasma leptin levels in patients with severe CHF [8.3 +/- 0.5 ng/nil] compared to controls [5.2 +/- 0.4 ng/ ml, p < 0.001] and mild CHF patients [6.8 +/- 0.6 ng / ml, p< 0.05], with a significant difference between mild CHF patients and controls [p < 0.05]. Signifcant negative [r = 0.362, p < 0.05] and positive [r = + 0.376, p < 0.05] correlations were noticed between plasma leptin levels and each of LVEF and NYHA functional class respectively. we found that patients with CHF were hyperleptinenic with significant correlation between plasma leptin levels and severity of the disease. Further studies arc recommended to clarify the significance of these findings, and we wonder whether leptin could be a marker and / or mediator of energy dysregulation in CHF patients