Circulating levels of adipokines in Parkinson's disease

Introduction: Adipokines are adipocyte-derived secretory factors, which have functions in satiety, energetic homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, vascular disease and also immune response. Parkinson's disease (PD) has been associated with unintended weight loss and reduced prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, inflammation has been proposed as one of the factors contributing to PD pathophysiology. Therefore, we sought to investigate if adipokine levels - adiponectin, leptin and resistin - are altered in PD patients. Also, we aimed to evaluate association between adipokine levels and clinical variables in PD.

Methods: Forty PD patients and twenty-five age-, gender- and body mass index-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood was drawn and plasma levels of adiponectin, leptin and resistin were measured by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay.

Results: There was no significant difference between PD patients and controls regarding plasma levels of the evaluated adipokines. In PD patients, higher leptin levels were associated with increased age and body mass index. No other correlation was found between adipokine levels and clinical or demographic data.

Conclusions: Although adipokines play important roles in inflammation, it seems that they are not implicated in the inflammatory response associated with PD.