To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Obesity Gene Possibly Linked To Heart Disease Risk URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/8497A.htm Doctor's Guide June 11, 1998
DALLAS, TX -- June 11, 1998 -- A link has been found between leptin, a protein product of the obesity gene and risk for coronary heart disease, the cause of heart attacks, say researchers in a study published in tomorrow's issue of the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. The obesity gene was cloned in 1994. Its product, leptin, acts as a signal to help the body decide when it has eaten enough food to feel full. The amount of leptin in the blood has been directly linked to body fat. This study is the first to associate leptin elevations in the blood with so-called insulin resistance syndrome. The syndrome -- characterised by high blood pressure, low levels of the good high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and elevations in insulin -- sets the stage for heart disease. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body use glucose, its main fuel. An excess of insulin (a condition called insulin resistance) indicates the body is not processing glucose normally. The study was conducted by researchers in the Wynn department of metabolic medicine of the Imperial College School of Medicine, London. In the study researchers measured blood leptin levels in 74 men. They found that the higher the level of leptin the more likely the men were to have the syndrome and thus perhaps a greater heart disease risk, explained Francisco Leyva, M.D., specialist registrar in cardiology at Charing Cross Hospital. "We have found that leptin concentrations are related to the metabolic disturbances that constitute the syndrome, especially insulin resistance," Leyva said. "Further studies are needed to determine whether insulin and leptin play a co-ordinating role in this syndrome and whether leptin concentrations could provide an additional measure of heart risk. "Measuring leptin might become a new way to determine a person's risk of heart disease." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.