Psoriasis and metabolic syndrome are both associated with high serum levels of leptin, according to a published study of 77 patients at a Taiwanese hospital.
It is possible that the proinflammatory mediators in psoriasis may stimulate leptin expression, which may in turn eventually lead to metabolic dysregulation, wrote Dr. Yi-Ju Chen, of Taichung (Taiwan) Veterans General Hospital, and associates.
It has been found that ischemic heart disease and stroke are significantly more common in psoriasis patients than in the general population. Therefore, the investigators wanted to examine the role of leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone that helps regulate energy homeostasis, metabolism, and immune-inflammatory processes. They used serum samples from 77 psoriasis patients and 81 control patients matched for age and gender.
The median serum leptin level was found to be significantly higher in psoriasis patients (7,311 pg/mL) than in controls (4,804 pg/mL).
Patient age, severity of psoriasis, presence or absence of psoriatic arthritis, and clinical subtype of psoriasis was found to have no relation to leptin levels. In addition, psoriasis patients who also had metabolic syndrome had significantly higher leptin levels than did psoriasis patients without the metabolic syndrome, Dr. Chen and colleagues reported (Arch. Derm. 2008;144:1571–5).
“It seems that high circulating leptin levels in psoriasis derive not only from adipose tissue but also from an inflammation process,” they wrote.