TY - JOUR T1 - Circulating Leptin and Adiponectin Concentrations During Tumor Necrosis Factor Blockade in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol DO - 10.3899/jrheum.080626 SP - jrheum.080626 AU - Calin Popa AU - Mihai G. Netea AU - Jacqueline de Graaf AU - Frank H.J. van den Hoogen AU - Timothy R.D.J. Radstake AU - Helga Toenhake-Dijkstra AU - Piet L.C.M. van Riel AU - Jos W.M. van der Meer AU - Anton F.H. Stalenhoef AU - Pilar Barrera Y1 - 2009/03/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2009/02/25/jrheum.080626.abstract N2 - Objective Adipocytokines, including leptin and adiponectin, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).We investigated the effects of longterm therapeutic tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockade on adipocytokine concentrations in patients with RA. Methods We studied 58 RA patients starting anti-TNF therapy and 58 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Fasting blood samples were drawn at baseline, 2 weeks, and 6 months after the start of anti-TNF therapy and serum levels of leptin and adiponectin were measured. Results Patients with RA had increased adiponectin (p < 0.001) and similar leptin concentrations compared with the controls. Leptin concentrations were significantly higher in patients with high BMI (p < 0.001) and correlated positively with BMI at all timepoints (r > 0.75). In contrast, serum adiponectin tended to be higher in lean RA patients and did not correlate with BMI at any timepoint. There were no clear correlations between serum concentrations of adipocytokines and disease activity (Disease Activity Score 28). Short- or longterm TNF blockade alone had no influence on circulating leptin and adiponectin concentrations. Patients treated with anti-TNF and concomitant corticosteroids on a stable basis showed a significant decrease in adiponectin levels after 6 months of therapy (p < 0.025). Conclusion In patients with RA, chronic inflammation and its suppression during anti-TNF therapy have limited influence on plasma leptin concentrations, while significantly decreasing circulating adiponectin levels. Our findings question the suggested key role of inflammatory markers in regulating adipocytokine patterns in RA. ER -