Weight loss, body fat mass, and leptin in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Weight loss is a common problem in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the causative mechanisms behind this weight loss are unclear. We compared 26 PD patients with sex and age matched healthy controls. Examinations were repeated at baseline, after one and after two years. Body fat mass was measured by Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Seventy three per cent of the PD patients lost body weight. Loss of body fat mass constituted a considerable part of the loss of body weight. In the patients who lost weight, serum leptin levels were lower than in those who did not lose weight. The relationship between low body fat mass and low leptin levels seems to be relevant, at least for female PD patients. It is reasonable to believe that low leptin levels in these patients could be secondary to the decreased body fat mass.

Body weight and food intake in Parkinson's disease. A review of the association to non-motor symptoms

“…The association between PD and weight loss has also been observed in the transgenic MitoPark mouse exhibiting the cardinal features of PD: at 16 weeks, transgenic mice, whose locomotor activity is already reduced, also start to lose weight relative to control mice and at 22 weeks such difference becomes significant (Li et al, 2013). Weight loss is also associated with lower level of leptin (Fiszer et al, 2010;Lorefält, Toss, & Granérus, 2009;Rocha et al, 2014), a hormone involved in the regulation of appetite and whose level depends on the amount of body fat mass (Palmiter, 2007), though not consistently (Evidente, Caviness, Adler, Gwinn-Hardy, & Pratley, 2001).…”

Neuroendocrine abnormalities in Parkinson's disease

“…Leptin : measurement of leptin97 101 and other adipokines102 have shown no significant differences between patients with PD with and without weight loss, and controls. Despite results showing a trend towards reduced concentration in patients with PD, this correlates with BMI and is likely that reduced leptin concentration reflects reduced body fat tissue content rather than being a causal factor for weight loss.…”

“…However, several studies have demonstrated that weight loss occurs despite an increased energy intake in patients with PD 88 96. Given the correlation between weight loss and disease severity,90 97 motor symptoms (tremor, rigidity) and motor complications (dyskinesias) could potentially increase the energy expenditure at rest resulting in weight loss 98. However, other studies have demonstrated that the total daily energy expenditure is not higher in patients with PD with weight loss compared with patients with PD without weight loss99 and healthy controls,100 arguing against the possibility that abnormally elevated energy expenditure contributes to weight loss in PD.…”

Clinicotherapeutic Potential of Leptin in Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease

“…A recent study has also shown that renin-angiotensin system blockers might play a beneficial role in AD subjects by modulating the serum leptin level and slowing down cognitive decline [92]. Isolated studies have shown lower serum leptin levels in PD patients [93,94]. Fiszer et al in their study involving 11 PD patients with unintentional weight loss, 16 patients with no weight loss, and 12 control subjects have shown that the mean leptin concentration in plasma is lower in PD patients with weight loss as well as in all PD patients than in control subjects [93].…”