Abstract
We investigated whether serum leptin levels are elevated in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and whether these levels correlate with disease activity. Fifty RA patients were enrolled in this study, and their disease activity was assessed using the disease activity score 28 (DAS28). The patients were divided into two groups according to this score: a high activity group with DAS28 > 3.2 (n = 26) and a low activity group with DAS28 ≤ 3.2 (n = 24). Serum leptin levels were determined using a primate antibody radioimmunoassay. RA patients with high disease activity had significantly higher mean serum leptin levels, compared to those with low activity (14.2 ± 10.9 vs. 7.0 ± 3.4 ng/ml, P < 0.05). Mean leptin levels adjusted according to BMI were 0.6 ± 0.5 ng m2/ml kg for the high activity group and 0.3 ± 0.2 ng m2/ml kg for the low activity group, respectively, which were also significantly different (P < 0.05). Both serum leptin levels and leptin levels adjusted according to BMI correlated well with the DAS28 (r = 0.363 and 0.368, P < 0.05) and CRP levels (r = 0.433 and 0.472, P < 0.05), respectively. Sixteen of the 26 RA patients with high disease activity at the initial assessment were re-evaluated, at which point their DAS28 had decreased to less than 3.2. Mean follow-up leptin level was significantly lower than mean initial leptin level (7.8 ± 3.7 vs. 16.1 ± 12.7 ng/ml, P < 0.05). In conclusion, serum leptin levels were higher in RA patients with high disease activity, correlated well with disease activity, and decreased significantly when disease was well controlled.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Friedman JM, Halaas JL (1998) Leptin and the regulation of body weight in mammals. Nature 395:763–770
Flier JS (1995) The adipocyte: storage depot or node on the energy information superhighway? Cell 80:15–18
Loffreda S, Yang SQ, Lin HZ, Karp CL, Brengman ML, Wang DJ, Klein AS, Bulkley GB, Bao C, Noble PW, Lane MD, Diehl AM (1998) Leptin regulates proinflammatory immune responses. FASEB J 12:57–65
Xiao E, Xia-Zhang L, Vulliemoz NR, Ferin M, Wardlaw SL (2003) Leptin modulates inflammatory cytokine and neuroendocrine responses to endotoxin in the primate. Endocrinology 144:4350–4353
Loeser RF (2003) Systemic and local regulation of articular cartilage metabolism: where does leptin fit in the puzzle? Arthritis Rheum 48:3009–3012
Faggioni R, Feingold KR, Grunfeld C (2001) Leptin regulation of the immune response and the immunodeficiency of malnutrition. FASEB J 15:2565–2571
Arend WP, Dayer JM (1995) Inhibition of the production and effects of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum 38:151–160
Kay J, Calabrese L (2004) The role of interleukin-1 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology 43(Suppl 3):iii2–iii9
Anders HJ, Rihl M, Heufelder A, Loch O, Schattenkirchner M (1999) Leptin serum levels are not correlated with disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Metabolism 48:745–748
Bokarewa M, Bokarew D, Hultgren O, Tarkowski A (2003) Leptin consumption in the inflamed joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 62:952–956
Popa C, Netea MG, Radstake TR, van Riel PL, Barrera P, van der Meer JW (2005) Markers of inflammation are negatively correlated with serum leptin in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 64:1195–1198
Arnett FC, Edworthy SM, Bloch DA, McShane DJ, Fries JF, Cooper NS, Healey LA, Kaplan SR, Liang MH, Luthra HS et al (1988) The American Rheumatism Association 1987 revised criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum 31:315–324
Fuchs HA (1993) The use of the disease activity score in the analysis of clinical trials in rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol 20:1863–1866
Park YB, Lee SK, Lee WK, Suh CH, Lee CW, Lee CH, Song CH, Lee J (1999) Lipid profiles in untreated patients with rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol 26:1701–1704
Kiortsis DN, Mavridis AK, Vasakos S, Nikas SN, Drosos AA (2005) Effects of infliximab treatment on insulin resistance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Ann Rheum Dis 64:765–766
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, SW., Park, MC., Park, YB. et al. Measurement of the serum leptin level could assist disease activity monitoring in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatol Int 27, 537–540 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-006-0253-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-006-0253-x