Effect of leptin on the gallbladder in patients with metabolic syndrome

Abstract

The study involved 58 patients with chronic noncalculous cholecystitis (CNC) divided into two groups. Group I included 30 CNC patients with metabolic syndrome (MS), group II 28 CNC patients without MS. The control group consisted of 2O healthy people. MS was diagnosed according to Internationial Diabetes Federation guidelines (2005). The following anthroponetric parameters were determined: body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio, blood lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoproteins (HDL), and low density lipoproteins (LDL)). Leptin and insulin levels were measured using com- mercial ELISA kits <<Leptin ELISA>> and <<Insulin ELISA>> (DRG International, Inc., USA) respectively Insulin resistance in- dex HOMA -JR (Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance) was calculated. It was shown that leptin level in CNC patients with MS was 2.61 times that in healthy subjects (p <0.001) and 2.47 times higher than in CNC patients without MS (p <0.001). Signficant direct correlations between leptin blood levels and BMI, HOMA-IR index, triglycerides, and cholesterol were documented The relationships between blood levels of leptin and the thickness of the gallbladder (GB) wall, the amount of cholesterol crystals in bile, and decreased bile release rate from GB which suggests effect of leptin on the structural and finctional changes in GB.