Physiological responses to leptin levels in lipodystrophy: a model for other hypoleptinemias?

Brown et al. report that two weeks of exogenous leptin administration to leptin-naive individuals with lipodystrophy resulted in increased energy expenditure and lipolysis, decreased ectopic liver fat, improved hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity, and attenuated dyslipidemia. Leptin withdrawal in individuals with lipodystrophy did not produce reciprocal effects on these phenotypes and resulted in significant improvements only in hepatic insulin sensitivity. This asymmetry in responses to leptin initiation and cessation is consistent with the other aspects of leptin biology that are dependent on the metabolic context in which this adipocyte-derived hormone functions.