Leptin Has a Possible Role in Alzheimer’s

Leptin is a hormone-like substance produced by adipose, or fatty, tissue cells.  Its receptors are found in brain nerve cells involved in regulating energy intake and expenditure.  Leptin signals to the brain that the body has had enough to eat, which has led to interest in it as an appetite-suppressing therapy.  A new avenue has opened, however.  A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that there’s an association between high levels of leptin in the blood and a lowered incidence of Alzheimer’s. 

The prospective study involved 785 persons without dementia who were enrolled in the Framingham original study cycle, from 1990 to 1994; 62% were female, and their average age was 79.  Follow-up averaged 8.3 years.  During this time, 111 cases of dementia occurred, of which 89 were Alzheimer’s.  Higher blood leptin levels at baseline were associated with a lower risk of dementia (and Alzheimer’s).  Thus for a 12-year period there would be a 25% incidence of Alzheimer’s for persons in the lowest quarter (‘quartile’) of leptin levels, vs. 6% for those in the top quartile.  In a subset of dementia-free survivors, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams showed a higher brain volume in those with higher blood leptin levels.

A biopharmaceutical company, Neurotez Inc., is planning the development of a leptin-like product that should enter clinical trials soon.  It has already shown that leptin decreases Alzheimer-like pathology and improves memory in lab animals.  Looks as if they may be on an interesting track . . .