Alzheimer's disease patients display gender dimorphism in circulating anorectic adipokines

• Autores: Intebi, Alberto D.; Garau, Laura; Brusco, Ignacio; Pagano, Miguel; Gaillard, Rolf C.; Spinedi, Eduardo Julio
• Año de publicación: 2003
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: AGING; CYTOKINE; DEMENTIA; INFLAMMATION; LEPTIN; TNF-Α
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Among neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a leading cause of death in elderly individuals. AD is characterized, among other clinical findings, by unexplained weight loss, cachexia and altered immune function. To explore whether any relationship between gender and circulating levels of several eating-controlling metabolites exist, we evaluated leptin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, triiodothyronine (T3), free (F) thyroxine (T4), TSH, PRL, insulin (INS), and cortisol in 15 AD-treated patients (age range 55-82 years): 9 postmenopausal females (without hormone replacement therapy) and 6 males. The results (mean ± SEM) indicated that circulating leptin levels were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in female AD (40.34 ± 11.1 ng/ml) than in male AD (6.07 ± 1.39 ng/ml) patients. The difference found in circulating leptin levels was noticed regardless of BMI (26.75 ± 1.77 and 24.55 ± 1.93 kg/m 2, in females and males, respectively) and waist:hip ratios (0.91 ± 0.03 and 0.94 ± 0.02, in females and males, respectively). Moreover, serum TNF-α concentrations were also significantly (p < 0.02) higher in AD females (12.24 ± 1.47 pg/ml) than in AD males (6.62 ± 1.44 pg/ml), regardless of TNF-α:BMI ratios (0.50 ± 0.09 and 0.28 ± 0.08, in females and males, respectively; p > 0.05). Finally, no differences were observed between gender (in female and male AD patients, respectively) in circulating levels of T3 (151.33 ± 9.91 vs. 116 ± 17.04 ng/dl), FT4 (1.26 ± 0.08 vs. 1.24 ± 0.06 ng/dl), TSH (1.28 ± 0.16 vs. 2.46 ± 0.67 μlU/ml), PRL (10.53 ± 2.47 vs. 12.61 ± 2.37 ng/ml), INS (11.76 ± 1.95 vs. 8.59 ± 1.34 μlU/ml) and cortisol (15.71 ± 1.23 vs. 12.63 ± 1.47 μg/dl). These results indicate that our AD group of patients, with normal corticoadrenal and thyroid functions and normoprolactinemia, displayed a gender-related characteristic in the circulating levels of two very important anorectic signals, leptin and TNF-α, being both higher in female than in male AD patients, regardless of BMI. Our study suggests that increased circulating levels of both anorexigenic adipokines may contribute to the metabolic changes observed in AD females.
Fil: Intebi, Alberto D.. Clínica de Endocrinología y Metabolismo Dr. J. Reforzo Membrives; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Programa de Investigación en Neurociencias y Salud Mental; Argentina
Fil: Garau, Laura. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Juan A. Fernández"; Argentina
Fil: Brusco, Ignacio. Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Programa de Investigación en Neurociencias y Salud Mental; Argentina
Fil: Pagano, Miguel. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Juan A. Fernández"; Argentina
Fil: Gaillard, Rolf C.. Universite de Lausanne; Suiza
Fil: Spinedi, Eduardo Julio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Endocrinología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Centro de Endocrinología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina