Abstract
Leptin, the product of the ob gene, is a recently discovered hormone secreted by adipocytes. Cushing's syndrome
is a disease state usually associated with weight gain due to the accumulation of
adipose tissue. In order to study the effect of chronic glucocorticoid excess upon
serum leptin levels; in the present work, four patients with recently diagnosed Cushing's
syndrome and a group of control subjects matched for age, sex and body mass index
(BMI) were studied. Serum leptin concentrations, measured by radioimmunoassay, were
assessed in samples taken every 60 minutes over a 24 hour period. Assessment of leptin
concentrations over 24 hours, by means of the area under curve showed a twofold increase
in serum leptin levels in patients with Cushing's syndrome (mean ± SEM 54.3 ± 14)
in comparison to control subjects (29.3 ± 4.4; p < 0.05). In conclusion, our data
show that leptin levels are markedly increased in Cushing's syndrome patients. The
relevance of this finding to the increased body fat present in patients with Cushing's
syndrome merits further studies.
Key words
Glucocorticoids - Adipose Tissue - Obesity - Food Intake
