Abstract
Leptin - a protein hormone is synthesised in the adipose tissue in humans. Its level therefore should be directly proportional to the amount of adipose tissue in the body. When biopsies of human myometrium from obese women were exposed to leptin, it showed a cumulative inhibitory effect on spontaneous as well as induced contractions. This lead to the proposed theory that leptin may be the cause of dysfunctional labour in obese women leading to increased caesarean section rates. There is an increased rate of post-dated pregnancies in obese women when compared to normal weight women with a consequent increased induction rate in women with a raised body mass index (BMI). Likewise there a decrease in the rate of spontaneous preterm delivery in obese women. These findings suggest that leptin inhibits uterine contractions in these women and this effect could be considered a tocolytic effect on uterine muscle. So could this hormone (leptin) be used as a tocolytic agent for threatened preterm labour in the future?
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