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Correlation between leptin and obesity in menopause
Anisie Năsălean, Camelia Gliga
Abstract: Leptin plays an important role in the control of body weight, signalizing to the Central Nervous System the amount of body fat. This protein is mainly produced by adipocytes and indicates the nutritional status. Leptin contains 167 amino acids, has structural similarities with the cytokines. Leptin leveles are positively correlated with total body fat mass and body mass index. Leptin is considered to have an important role in modulation of the insuline activity and in the genic expression of many key enzymes of the lipidic and glucidic metabolism. With regards to the molecular mechanisms and metabolic pathways whereby leptin is involved in the pathogenesis of obesity and its metabolic complications, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the relation between leptin leveles, body mass index, fat distribution, sex hormones (estradiol and testosterone) in menopausal women. Our study confirms that obese women have significantly higher leptin levels than normal weight women, suggesting that most obese persons are insensitive to endogenous leptin production.
Keywords: leptin,menopause,obesity,body mass index
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