Serum leptin level in rheumatoid arthritis and its relationship with disease activity

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate serum leptin levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to investigate its correlation with parameters of disease activity including DAS-28, C- reactive protein (CRP) and ESR. Materials and Methods: This study included 60 rheumatoid arthritis  patients attended Ibn-Sina and Al-Salam Teaching Hospitals during the period from December 2013 to June 2014. The study also included 30 apparently healthy individuals as a control group who were age, gender, and merely body mass index matched to rheumatoid arthritis patients. Full clinical assessment of the patients was conducted by consultant rheumatologists/physicians. A Questionnaire Form was completed and DAS-28 was calculated. Five milliliters of blood were collected from patients and controls, then centrifuged and  the serum was separated and frozen as aliquots at -20 c^o until use. The sera were tested by enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay ( ELISA) for leptin. Results: Serum leptin levels in RA patients in comparison to the control group were within normal range. Its value varied ranging between 0.7 to 7.5 ng/ml (in patients), and mean ± stander deviation in RA patients 2.1 ± 4.2  and in controls 3.13 ± 2.30. In RA patients, there was no correlations between serum leptin levels and DAS-28, CRP, ESR. Serum leptin levels positively correlated with body mass index (BMI) in both patient and control groups. Conclusions: Circulating leptin level does not seem to reflect disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis since there is no correlation between  its serum levels and parameters of disease activity namely DAS -28, CRP, ESR.