Tuesday, October 4, 2011

High Levels of Leptin Associated With Lower Depression

Leptin is a hormone released by adipocytes (fat cells) that signals excess, or fullness, after a meal. Studies in chubby people have found that there is a coupling between weight gain and an ineptitude to produce adequate amounts of leptin. A group study looks at a new role excessive levels of the hormone may also demote symptoms of depression.

Leptin Levels Influence a Variety of Body Processes

Elizabeth Lawson MD of Massachusetts Blended Hospital and Harvard Medical Credo and colleagues studied the relationship between leptin levels and symptoms of foreboding and depression in 64 women of odd weights. Fifteen of the women had anorexia nervosa, an eating brouhaha characterized by abnormally low force and body fat.
Twelve were of ordinary weight but had hypothalamic amenorrhea, or the cessation of menstruation. Leptin is also known to flatter a role in regulation of reproductive go. Twenty of the remaining women were of orthodox weight and 17 were overweight or pot-bellied, but all in good health.
 The on participants were asked questions to assess symptoms of downheartedness and anxiety with higher scores indicating more symptoms. Blood leptin levels were regulated and BMI was assessed. The researchers establish that higher leptin levels were linked to decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression, a relationship that was neutral of BMI.
The finding, also seen in subhuman studies, indicates that leptin may mediate symptoms of impression and that this really is not a function of weight stature, Dr. Lawson said. Leptin injections are already being tested in gross models as an obesity treatment and supplementary research in humans “commitment be important in understanding whether this hormone has a potency role in the treatment of sadness,” concluded the authors.
It is provocative to note that a aforesaid study conducted at the University of Florida initiate that exercise can suffer with a positive effect on leptin levels, allowing the hormone to incite properly in the body. Worry has long been associated with a contract in depression symptoms, the buy generic Valium online, a find that could be relative in future studies as satisfactory.