Background: The aim of this report was to study leptin status in hyper-thyr
oid men and women (prior to and after medical treatment) and in matched con
trols in Arabs.
Subjects and Methods: Twenty-nine hyperthyroid patients (19 women and 10 me
n) and 32 controls (20 women and 12 men) matched for age, ethnic status and
body mass index (BMI) were studied. The patients were studied at the time
of diagnosis and six month?; after antithyroid treatment with carbimazole-t
itrating dose, which rendered them euthyroid. On each study occasion, the s
ubject's fasting blood was collected for the measurement of leptin, glucose
, insulin and C-peptide,
Results: Fasting leptin level was significantly lower in women with hyperth
yroidism at baseline (mean+/-SEM, 15.8+/-2.9 mug/L, P=0.01), and after six
months of antithyroid treatment (13.4+/-1.7 mug/L, P=0.004) than in control
women (25.6+/-2.7 mug/L), but the difference was not significant in the me
n. Women in each group had significantly higher leptin concentrations than
men (patients: 15.8+/-2.9 vs. 4.9+/-0.9 mug/L, P=0.009; controls: 25.6+/-2.
7 vs. 7.9+/-1.4 mug/L, P=0.0005). The differences in women's leptin remaine
d significant even when expressed in relation to BMI. Baseline fasting gluc
ose (P=0.01), insulin (P=0.007), and C-peptide (P=0.02) were significantly
higher in the patients than controls. After six months of antithyroid thera
py, fasting glucose, insulin and C-peptide levels were similar in the patie
nts and controls. Within the patients, baseline leptin concentrations corre
lated positively with BMI (rho=0.65, P=0.02) and negatively with free T3 (r
ho=-0.62, P=0.03). It neither demonstrated an association with baseline nor
with six-month values of fasting glucose, insulin and C-peptide.
Conclusion: Leptin concentration is decreased in Arab women with hyperthyro
idism. Six months of antithyroid therapy is not associated with alterations
in leptin levels.