The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2014 , Vol 56 , Num 3
Assessing Leptin and Soluble Leptin Receptor Levels in Full-Term Asymmetric Small for Gestational Age and Healthy Neonates
1Department of Pediatrics, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, and 2Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zübeyde Hanım
Maternity Hospital, Ankara, and 3Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya,
and 4Department of Pediatrics, Afyon Kocatepe University Faculty of Medicine, Afyon, Turkey. E-mail: hiaydin@yahoo.com
The aim in this study was to determine the factors affecting leptin and soluble
leptin receptor (sOB-R) levels in term small for gestational age (SGA) and
appropriate for gestational age (AGA) newborns. The study group consisted
of SGA (n=20) and AGA (n=20) newborns and their mothers. The leptin
and sOB-R levels were tested using the ELISA method. The cord blood
leptin concentrations were found significantly higher in the AGA group than
in the SGA group (p=0.048). It was observed that cord blood leptin levels
increased as body weight increased in the AGA group (r=0.681, p=0.001).
The cord blood leptin levels were found higher in female infants than male
infants (p=0.021). The plasma leptin levels were higher in the mothers of
SGA neonates than those of AGA neonates (p=0.014). A positive correlation
was detected between cord blood and amniotic fluid sOB-R concentrations
in the AGA group (AGA: r=0.492, p=0.028). We conclude that the main
determinants of leptin in SGA and AGA newborns are different. We can
state that birth weight and gender are the main determinants of leptin levels
in healthy neonates, but factors other than birth weight and gender may
contribute to leptin levels in SGA newborns.
Keywords :
leptin, soluble leptin receptor, sOB-R, small for gestational age (SGA),
intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR).