Recerca bibliogràfica sobre el paper de la leptina durant la gestació i la lactància sobre la prevenció de l'obesitat en edat adulta

Abstract

Obesity is one of the risk factors of various chronic diseases. It may result from excess accumulation of body fat. This condition may be caused by dysfunction of appetite-regulating pathways and energy balance due to leptin resistance. Leptin, a 16 kDa hormone, is the most important regulator of appetite and energy balance in the body and it is involved in the interaction between peripheral signals and brain target. . Leptin is mainly produced by the adipose tissue, but also by the stomach, the placenta and the mammary gland and it is present in maternal milk (but not in infant formula). In addition to its effects on normal concepts development, this hormone is linked to mechanisms affecting a diverse array of pregnancy-specific pathologies that include preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and intrauterine growth restriction that affect the individual's health in adult life, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Different studies of experimental models that analyze glucose, insulin and leptin under different conditions indicate that animals supplemented with physiological doses of leptin during lactation were more protected against obesity and metabolic diseases. In humans, association studies suggested that milk-borne leptin provides a link between maternal body composition and infant growth and development, and plays a critical role in regulating appetite and food intake during early infancy. Thus, moderate milk-borne maternal leptin appears to provide moderate protection to infants from an excess of weight gain, and milk leptin may be factor that could explain, at least partially, the higher propensity to develop obesity that show formula-fed infants with respect to breast-fed infants.