Hormonal
Exogenous leptin administration effectively treats obesity and metabolic disease in patients with congenital leptin deficiency or generalized lipodystrophy, but is largely ineffective as a monotherapy for common obesity due to leptin resistance.
If you have a rare genetic condition causing leptin deficiency or generalized lipodystrophy, leptin therapy is a highly effective, approved treatment that can restore metabolism and fertility. However, for the vast majority of people with common obesity, leptin levels are already high, and the body has become resistant to it. Taking leptin alone will likely not work; current research suggests combining it with other agents like amylin may be necessary to achieve significant weight loss.
Mutations in leptin or its receptor cause massive obesity in mice and humans, and leptin can effectively treat obesity in leptin-deficient patients... Most obese patients have high endogenous levels of leptin... Obese patients with leptin resistance show a variable response to exogenous leptin but may respond to a combination of leptin plus amylin.
Why this rating
Based on clinical trials in specific patient populations (lipodystrophy, leptin deficiency) showing clear metabolic and reproductive improvements.
Source
The long road to leptin
Jeffrey Friedman · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2016
DOI 10.1172/jci91578
More from this paper
- Leptin acts as a critical afferent signal in a negative feedback loop that maintains homeostatic control of adipose tissue mass, protecting against both starvation and obesity.Strong
- Leptin deficiency, whether genetic or acquired (e.g., lipodystrophy, hypothalamic amenorrhea), leads to severe metabolic and reproductive dysfunction, which can be reversed by leptin replacement therapy.Strong
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