PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate serum levels of leptin, ghrelin, and adiponectin in obese and non-obese children with asthma and in healthy non-asthmatic children, and analyze their relationships with clinical outcomes. METHODS: This study enrolled 40 obese and 51 non-obese children with asthma and 20 healthy children. Body mass index and serum leptin, ghrelin, and adiponectin levels were determined in all children. Asthma symptom scores and lung function test results were recorded for subjects with asthma. RESULTS: Serum leptin levels (11.8+/-7.9, 5.3+/-6.8, and 2.1+/-2.4 ng/mL in the obese asthmatic, non-obese asthmatic, and control groups, respectively) and adiponectin levels (12,586.2+/-3,724.1; 18,089.3+/-6,452.3; and 20,297.5+/-3,680.7 ng/mL, respectively) differed significantly among the groups (P<0.001 for all). Mean ghrelin levels were 196.1+/-96.8 and 311.9+/-352.8 pg/mL in the obese and non-obese asthmatic groups, respectively, and 348.8+/-146.4 pg/mL in the control group (P=0.001). The asthma symptom score was significantly higher in the obese children with asthma than in the non-obese children with asthma (P<0.001). Leptin and adiponectin levels were correlated with the asthma symptom score in non-obese children with asthma (r=0.34 and r=-0.62, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity leads to more severe asthma symptoms in children. Moreover, leptin, adiponectin, and ghrelin may play important roles in the inflammatory pathogenesis of asthma and obesity co-morbidity.
Adipokines ; Adiponectin ; Asthma ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Ghrelin ; Humans ; Leptin ; Obesity ; Respiratory Function Tests

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Chronic arthritis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) involves weight-bearing joints and can occur in patients without a history of acute attack. Our aim was to investigate a possible causal relationship between FMF and osteoarthritis in a population in which FMF is quite common. METHODS: Patients with late stage primary osteoarthritis were enrolled, and five MEFV gene mutations were investigated. The frequency of MEFV gene mutations was compared among patients with osteoarthritis and a previous healthy group from our center. RESULTS: One hundred patients with primary osteoarthritis and 100 healthy controls were studied. The frequency of MEFV gene mutations was significantly lower in the osteoarthritis group (9% vs. 19%). M694V was the most frequent mutation (5%) in the osteoarthritis group, whereas in the control group, E148Q was the most common (16%). In subgroup analyses, the mutation frequency of patients with hip osteoarthritis was not different from that of patients with knee osteoarthritis and controls (7.1%, 9.7%, and 19%, respectively). There were no differences among the three groups with respect to MEFV gene mutations other than E148Q (8.1% vs. 3.6%). E148Q was significantly lower in the osteoarthritis group than in the controls (16% vs. 1%), although the mutations did not differ between patients with knee osteoarthritis and controls. CONCLUSIONS: In a population with a high prevalence of MEFV gene mutations, we did not find an increased mutation rate in patients with primary osteoarthritis. Furthermore, we found that some mutations were significantly less frequent in patients with osteoarthritis. Although the number of patients studied was insufficient to claim that E148Q gene mutation protects against osteoarthritis, the potential of this gene merits further investigation.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Chi-Square Distribution ; *Cytoskeletal Proteins ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Familial Mediterranean Fever/diagnosis/epidemiology/*genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Mutation ; Osteoarthritis, Hip/diagnosis/epidemiology/*genetics/surgery ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/diagnosis/epidemiology/*genetics/surgery ; Phenotype ; Risk Factors ; Turkey/epidemiology ; Young Adult