Related Experiment Videos
Relationship between muscle sympathetic nerve activity and plasma leptin concentration
S Snitker1, R E Pratley, M Nicolson
1Clinical Diabetes and Nutrition Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, national Institutes of Health, Phoenix, AZ 85016, USA.
Obesity Research
|July 1, 1997
Summary
Leptin, a hormone from fat tissue, may signal the brain to increase sympathetic nerve activity in humans. This study found a link between leptin levels and nerve activity, suggesting leptin
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Endocrinology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Basal muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) correlates with body fat percentage in humans.
- The physiological mechanism linking body fat to MSNA is not fully understood.
- Leptin, a hormone secreted by adipose tissue, increases sympathetic nervous outflow in mice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if leptin acts as a peripheral signal influencing sympathetic nervous outflow in humans.
- To test the hypothesis that basal MSNA correlates with plasma leptin concentration.
Main Methods:
- Collected fasting plasma samples and recorded basal MSNA from 37 healthy men.
- Measured plasma leptin concentration and body fat percentage.
- Analyzed correlations between MSNA, leptin levels, and body fat percentage.
Main Results:
- Plasma leptin concentration strongly correlated with body fat percentage (r = 0.93, p < 0.001).
- Basal MSNA correlated with body fat percentage (r = 0.53, p < 0.001).
- Basal MSNA also correlated with plasma leptin concentration (r = 0.44, p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Results demonstrate a significant correlation between MSNA and plasma leptin concentration in humans.
- Leptin may serve as the peripheral signal explaining the relationship between body fat and MSNA.
- Further research, including leptin administration studies in humans, is needed to fully elucidate this relationship.