Positive correlation between circulating leptin levels and lipid lipoproteins in postmenopausal women administered...

Beneficial effects of hormone replacement therapy are reported on plasma concentrations of lipids and lipoproteins. Plasma leptin levels are reported to reflect lipid metabolism. We treated 40 healthy postmenopausal women with continuous combined HRT (0.625 mg conjugated equine estrogen and 2.5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate orally) daily for 6 months and then investigated total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which are considered to be factors inducing cardiovascular disease (CVD). We measured the plasma levels of lipids and leptin, which are considered to be altered with HRT. Plasma leptin and lipid levels were measured at baseline and after 3 and 6 months of HRT. The plasma levels of leptin in PMW were not significantly reduced by HRT. Although the plasma levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol did not change by HRT, the administration of HRT significantly increased plasma levels of triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol in PMW. The correlation between leptin and total cholesterol or triglycerides was positive after HRT while these relations were not correlated at baseline. The correlation between lipid levels and leptin may explain the new role of leptin in plasma lipid levels in HRT.