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Circulating leptin levels and bone mineral density in children with biliary atresia
Sittisak Honsawek1, Tawatchai Chaiwatanarat, Voranush Chongsrisawat
1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
Leptin levels are lower in biliary atresia (BA) patients, especially those with jaundice. Lower leptin correlates with reduced bone mineral density (BMD) in BA patients, suggesting a role in bone health.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Bone Metabolism
Background:
- Biliary atresia (BA) is a severe neonatal liver disease.
- Bone mineral density (BMD) complications are observed in BA patients.
- Leptin, an adipokine, influences bone metabolism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate serum leptin levels in biliary atresia (BA) patients.
- To assess the association between leptin, BMD, and BA severity.
- To explore leptin's role in bone health among BA patients.
Main Methods:
- Studied 50 BA patients and 15 healthy controls.
- Measured serum leptin, osteocalcin, and CTX using ELISA.
- Assessed lumbar spine BMD via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Main Results:
- BA patients exhibited significantly lower leptin levels than controls.
- Leptin levels were lower in BA patients with jaundice.
- Leptin levels correlated significantly with BMD (r=0.55) in BA patients.
Conclusions:
- Circulating leptin is lower in BA patients and associated with jaundice.
- Leptin levels correlate with BMD in BA patients.
- Leptin may play a role in maintaining bone mass in jaundiced BA patients.
Aim:
To investigate circulating leptin levels in biliary atresia (BA) patients and the association of leptin with bone mineral density (BMD) and the severity of BA.
Methods:
We have examined 50 patients with BA and 15 matched healthy controls. Serum leptin, osteocalcin and C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) levels were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). BMD of the lumbar spine was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Results:
Serum leptin levels of BA patients were lower than those of healthy controls (2.7 +/- 0.3 vs. 7.1 +/- 1.7 ng/mL, p = 0.0001). Among the BA patients, serum leptin levels were significantly lower in patients with jaundice than patients without jaundice (1.7 +/- 0.2 vs. 3.4 +/- 0.4 ng/mL, p = 0.001). BMD of BA patients was correlated (p < 0.001) with leptin levels, age and BMI (r = 0.55, r = 0.75 and r = 0.58, respectively). The serum CTX levels were significantly higher in jaundice patients compared with jaundice-free patients and the healthy controls (0.6 +/- 0.2 vs. 0.2 +/- 0.1 ng/mL, p = 0.01), whereas the serum osteocalcin levels in BA patients were not different from those in the controls.
Conclusion:
Circulating leptin levels are correlated with BMD and the presence of jaundice in BA, suggesting that the leptin may play a physiological role in maintaining bone mass of BA patients with jaundice.
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