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OBJECTIVE: To determine whether circulating levels of leptin differed between women with preeclampsia and women who had an uncomplicated pregnancy.METHODS: Maternal and umbilical venous plasma leptin concentrations obtained at delivery were compared in 36 pairs of women with either preeclampsia or normal pregnancy, matched 1:1 for prepregnancy body mass index and fetal gestational age at delivery.RESULTS: Prepregnancy body mass index was 21.1 ± 2.1 kg/m2 in either study group (range 17.6-25.3 kg/m2 and 17.7-25.3 kg/m2 in the normal and preeclamptic group, respectively). Mean fetal gestational age at delivery was 40.1 ± 1.3 weeks and 40.1 ± 1.2 weeks in the normal and preeclamptic group, respectively. Median leptin concentrations were significantly lower (p < .0001) in women with preeclampsia (8.3 ng/mL, range 3.5-20.0 ng/mL) than in normal pregnant women (20.2 ng/mL, range 6.0-63.7 ng/mL). Median umbilical venous leptin was not significantly different between groups (preeclampsia 11.8 ng/mL, range 2.0-37.2 ng/mL; normal 7.6 ng/mL, range 1.6-24.3 ng/mL; P =.377). Umbilical venous leptin levels correlated positively with birth weight in both groups (preeclampsia p = 0.501, P = .002; normal p = 0.517, P = .001), whereas no correlations were found between maternal and fetal hormone concentrations. Maternal leptin concentrations did not correlate with birth weight.CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the correlation between umbilical venous leptin concentration and birth weight is independent of the presence of preeclampsia. Given the inconsistency in literature concerning circulating leptin levels in preeclampsia, further studies should investigate the regulatory systems of leptin in preeclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective:To determine whether there is a difference in maternal leptin concentration and cord blood concentration, consistent with the hypothesis of a noncommunicating, two-compartement model of fetoplacental leptin regulation.Methods:Blood samples were collected from 139 women, identified as having an uncomplicated pregnancy, from an antecubital vein at delivery. Cord blood samples were taken from the umbilical vein. Leptin was measured by radioimmunoassay, and its relationship to fetal and maternal anthropometrics was assessed by Spearman correlation. Differences in maternal and cord blood leptin levels between male and female infants were tested twith the Mann-Whitney U test. Maternal and cord blood leptin were compared by the Wilcoxon signed rank test. The outcome measures were maternal and cord blood leptin at delivery, fetal birth weight, length, weight/length ratio, and ponderal index, maternal prepregnancy body mass index, pregnancy weight gain, relative weight gain, and body mass index at delivery.Results:No correlations were found between maternal and cord blood leptin concentrations. Fetal leptin level correlated with birth weight (ρ = 0.665; p < .0001), length (ρ = 0.490; P < .0001), ponderal index (ρ = 0.260; P = .002), and weight/length ratio (ρ = 0.625; P < .0001). Median leptin concentrations were higher in female (9.3 ng/mL, range 1.5-34.4 ng/mL) than in male (8.2 ng/mL, range 1.6-38.3 ng/mL) neonates, but this difference was statistically not significant. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant influence on umbilical venous leptin concentration for birth weight (P < .0001) but not for gender. Maternal leptin concentrations were significantly higher than cord leptin concentrations (P < .0005 for the male and female neonates and the entire group).Conclusion:There was no correlation between maternal and cord leptin, whiich supports the hypothesis of a noncommunicating, two-compartment model of fetoplacental leptin regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]