Serum leptin concentrations and satiety in Parkinson's disease patients with and without weight loss.

We compared serum leptin and satiety measures in 18 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with unintended weight loss (WL) and 18 PD patients whose weight was stable (WS). Mean serum leptin concentrations tended to be lower in WL than WS patients, but this did not reach statistical significance. Body mass index correlated with serum leptin concentrations. Ratings of hunger, satiety, fullness, and thirst did not differ between groups. However, the mean sensation of fullness before meals correlated with serum leptin in the entire cohort of patients, particularly in the WL group. The results indicate that unintended weight loss in PD patients is unlikely to be due to abnormal serum leptin concentrations. Copyright 2001 Movement Disorder Society.