Leptin and ghrelin concentrations and weight loss in Parkinson's disease

Objectives - To investigate the role of leptin, ghrelin, GH and IGF-1 in energy balance disturbances in Parkinson's disease (PD). Materials and methods - Thirty-nine patients were included: 11 PD patients with unintentional weight loss, 16 PD patients without weight loss and 12 controls. UPDRS, MMSE, MADRS, appetite scale, BMI, adipose tissue content, plasma leptin and active ghrelin concentrations and serum GH, IGF-1, TSH, T3 and T4, concentrations were evaluated. Results - A lower plasma leptin concentration and a higher serum IGF-1 concentration were found in PD patients with weight loss. BMI and the content of adipose tissue were positively correlated with leptin concentration in all PD patients. Paradoxically, the lower BMI was, the lower plasma active ghrelin concentration was in PD patients with the weight loss. Conclusion - These findings confirm that changes of plasma leptin concentration occur in PD patients with loss of weight.