Leptin levels and its correlation with crack-cocaine use severity: A preliminary study
| Autor: | Mariana Escobar, Juliana Nichterwitz Scherer, Flavio Pechansky, Giovana Bristot, Felipe Ornell, Luciano Santos Pinto Guimarães, Cássia Medino Soares, Lisia von Diemen |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Adult Leptin Male medicine.medical_specialty media_common.quotation_subject Overweight Severity of Illness Index Body Mass Index 03 medical and health sciences Cocaine-Related Disorders Young Adult 0302 clinical medicine Reward Dopamine Internal medicine medicine Humans media_common Dopamine transporter biology business.industry General Neuroscience Appetite 030104 developmental biology Endocrinology Cross-Sectional Studies biology.protein Body Composition Biomarker (medicine) Crack Cocaine Brain stimulation reward medicine.symptom business Body mass index 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Biomarkers Brazil medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Neuroscience letters. 671 |
| ISSN: | 1872-7972 |
| Popis: | Background Crack-cocaine is an important public health problem in Brazil and worldwide. It is a potent form of cocaine which results in rapid and damaging stimulating effects on the central nervous system through inhibition of the dopamine transporter. Some studies have suggested that both food and drugs – including crack, can act on the same brain reward mechanisms, altering the dopamine pathways that modulate behavioral responses. Our hypothesis was that leptin, a well-known peptide that modulates energy metabolism and appetite, can be used as a biomarker for drug use. Methods Anthropometric data, drug use profiles, and leptin serum levels were evaluated in a cross-sectional study of 40 crack-cocaine users. Results Leptin showed an inverse correlation with the severity of crack use, and this correlation remained when corrected by body mass index (BMI) and body composition by bioimpedance (BIA). The majority of subjects were eutrophic or overweight/obese considering BMI and BIA, and these variables were not significantly associated with the severity of crack use, but positively correlated with leptin levels. Conclusions Our preliminary findings suggest that leptin could be involved in drug use severity, perhaps through pathways similar to those whereby it modulates food intake. Considering the anthropometric parameters, these findings provide additional evidence that low weight is not predominant in crack users. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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