Relation Between Serum Levels of Leptin, Blood Cell Count, andErythropoietin Level in Hemodialiseds Patients

Overview

Background.
Serum leptin levels are significantly increased in hemodialysed patients compared to healthysubjects. There are some data suggesting the possible relationship of leptin and the regulation of haematopoiesis.The aim of our study was to compare serum leptin levels in two groups of hemodialysed patients: the group treatedby recombinant human erythropoietin (n=40) (HD+EPO), the group without erythropoietin treatment (HD) and thecontrol group of healthy subjects (n=20) to explore the influence of erythropoietin treatment on serum leptin levels.Methods and Results. The tendency towards lower body fat content and higher serum leptin levels was found inboth groups of HD patients compared to control group, but the differences did not reach statistical significance dueto high variability of those parameters (leptinu levels: HD 19.5±18.5, HD+EPO 24.9±23.3, K 10.4±8.8 ng.ml-1). Theerythrocyte count and haemoglobin levels in both groups of HD patients were significantly lower than in controlgroup. The erythrocyte count and haemoglobin levels were significantly lower in HD patients treated by erythro-poietin compared to untreated HD group. The leptin/body fat content ratio was significantly higher in HD patientscompared to healthy subjects (HD 0.86±0,72, HD+EPO 0.92±0.78, K 0.35±0.21, p

Key words:
leptin, hemodialysed patients, haematopoiesis, erythropoietin.