Adipokines and the clinical laboratory: what to measure, when and how?

This review summarises current experimental adipokine investigations and will focus on some of the procedures and techniques that are currently important in the clinical research laboratory. The complexity of measuring adipokines is discussed and the relative success of the various applications in the transition from the laboratory to clinical diagnosis assessed. In addition, as new adipokines continue to emerge, this review will consider the direction research is taking at the cutting edge of novel adipokine discovery. Finally, how a more comprehensive understanding of the pathobiology related to adipokines may enhance innovative therapeutic strategies designed to attenuate the predicted explosion in obesity related diseases will be discussed.