Perturbations in adiponectin, leptin and resistin levels in acromegaly: lack of correlation with insulin resistance.

BACKGROUND

Insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes are common in acromegalic subjects. The mechanism underlying this insulin resistance is unclear.

DESIGN

We investigated the levels of the adipocytokines, resistin, adiponectin and leptin in a group of 18 acromegalic subjects and 18 control subjects matched for age, gender and body mass index.

RESULTS

Here we demonstrate for the first time significant elevation in adiponectin levels in acromegalic subjects compared to control subjects 12.5 +/- 1.2 vs. 8.97 +/- 1.1 mg/l, P = 0.029. The resistin levels were similar in acromegalic subjects and controls; 20.65 +/- 2.99 vs. 19.03 +/- 4.72 micro g/l. No evidence of a correlation between adiponectin and insulin resistance as calculated from HOMA-R was found. No correlation was observed either between adiponectin or resistin levels and GH levels, total IGF-I or free IGF-I levels. Leptin levels were significantly reduced in acromegalic subjects, 8.22 +/- 2.26 vs. 18.3 +/- 4.1 micro g/l, P = 0.004. In control subjects, significant correlations between leptin levels and HOMA-R and between resistin levels and HOMA-R were observed. These relationships were not apparent in acromegalic subjects.

CONCLUSION

From these data we conclude that changes in resistin and adiponectin levels are unlikely to account for the insulin resistance of acromegaly.