Peritoneal fluid leptin concentration in infertile patients

Leptin may play a role in the regulation of menstrual cycle acting either d irectly on ovaries or at the level of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Peri toneal fluid is a biologically active environment that influences ovarian f unction but, on the other hand, concentration of many substances in periton eal fluid can reflect the functional status of ovaries. In our study, we es timated leptin concentration in peritoneal fluid in relation to serum lepti n concentration in infertile patients. A study group consisted of 31 infert ile patients that underwent laparoscopy. In 15 patients, laparoscopy did no t solve the problem and they were grouped as unexplained infertility, in ei ght patients we found endometriosis and eight patients were diagnosed as po lycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We found significantly higher peritoneal fl uid leptin concentrations in patients with unexplained infertility and endo metriosis compared to those with PCOS. The plasma leptin concentration did not differ between the groups studied. There was no correlation between per itoneal fluid and plasma leptin concentrations in any patient group. Taking into account our results, the role of leptin in reproduction should be emp hasized but further investigation is needed to determine its mechanism of a ction. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.