The Relevance of Plasma Leptin Levels to Dysmotility-Like Functional

Abstract

Background/Aims: Leptin is known to be related to both appetite and gastric motility. However, little is known about the clinical implication of leptin in functional dyspepsia (FD). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the plasma leptin levels with dysmotility-like FD.

Methods: 42 patients with dysmotility-like FD and 14 healthy controls were enrolled. The gastric emptying

time (GET) was measured using a radiolabeled solid meal, and plasma leptin levels were determined before and 30 min after the test meal with using a commercially available radioimmunoassay kit.

Results: The mean preprandial and postprandial leptin levels of the patient group were not significantly different from those of the control group. The leptin levels were not significantly correlated with the GET of the patient group. Those levels did not differ between the delayed gastric emptying and normal emptying subgroups.

Conclusions: The plasma leptin levels are not altered in dysmotility-like FD patients and they are poorly correlated with the gastric emptying time, suggesting that leptin does not seem to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of dysmotility-like FD. (Kor J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2006;12:157-160)