This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Metabolic status regulates betatrophin levels in women
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Women with anorexia nervosa have significantly elevated levels of betatrophin, whereas those with morbid obesity have reduced levels of the hormone when compared with normal-weight women, according to research in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
In a study analyzing the circulating betatrophin levels of women with extreme BMI and comparing the levels with women of a normal weight, researchers found that women with a BMI more than 40 kg/m² had significantly less circulating betatrophin compared with normal-weight women, suggesting there may be a betatrophin source other than adipose tissue to explain the findings.
“In contrast to our initial expectations, these results indicate that plasma betatrophin levels and fat mass are inversely regulated, with betatrophin concentrations being increased in a catabolic condition and decreased in conditions of extreme BMIs,” the researchers wrote. “This inverse regulation is clearer when circulating betatrophin is corrected by fat mass.”
Silvia Barja-Fern á ndez, a PhD student with the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and colleagues analyzed data from 149 women referred to seven medical centers. Within the cohort, 30 women had anorexia nervosa; 24 women were classified as obese and 45 women were morbidly obese (BMI > 40 kg/m²); 50 women were of normal weight. After an overnight fast, researchers obtained blood samples to measure serum betatrophin levels, glucose, insulin and lipid profiles, leptin and thyroid-stimulating hormone.
Researchers found that circulating concentrations of betatrophin were higher in women with anorexia nervosa vs. normal-weight women (21.5 ng/mL vs. 17.3 ng/mL; P < .001). In addition, in women with extreme obesity, betatrophin levels were lower vs. normal-weight women (11.9 ng/mL vs. 17.3 ng/mL; P < .001). Researchers found no significant differences in betatrophin levels when comparing women with obesity and normal-weight women.
There was a significant negative correlation between betatrophin and weight, BMI, fat mass percentage, glucose, insulin, triglycerides and leptin, whereas researchers found a significant positive correlation between betatrophin and HDL cholesterol.
The researchers noted that due to assay variability and technical issues, results on betatrophin concentrations are controversial.
“We next aimed to confirm our initial results measuring betatrophin levels with a different assay, and our results corroborated that plasma betatrophin levels were significantly higher in [anorexic] women in comparison with [morbidly obese] women,” the researchers wrote. – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts