瘦素是否对肥胖-哮喘相关性起作用
2009/07/09
过去的几十年里，哮喘发病率与肥胖呈现平行增长。肥胖的一个特征是循环中瘦素的增加。瘦素是肥胖基因的产物，能刺激促炎介质（如肿瘤坏死因子-α、白介素-6和干扰素-γ）的产生。瘦素与哮喘具有一定的相关性，尤其是在儿童中。
目前尚不清楚的是：瘦素是否对肥胖-哮喘相关性起作用，以及瘦素是否在肥胖和非肥胖的哮喘患者中具有不同的作用。
由于瘦素处于炎症细胞因子（肿瘤坏死因子-α）的正反馈回路，因而有可能参与了哮喘发病的调节过程，而不是哮喘的致病过程。儿童减肥能降低循环瘦素的含量。因此，肥胖儿童的哮喘治疗中应该考虑到控制体重。
（林江涛 审校）
Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2009 May;20(3):207-212
Does leptin play a role in obesity-asthma relationship?
Mai XM, Chen Y, Krewski D.
McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. xiao-mei.mai@sintef.no
The increase of asthma has paralleled the rising obesity during the past decades. Obesity is characterized by the increase of leptin in the circulation. Leptin is an obesity gene product, and it can stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6 and interferon (IFN)-gamma. There is a link between leptin and asthma, especially in children. It remains unclear however, if leptin is in the pathway of obesity-asthma relationship and if it plays a distinctive role in asthma in obese vs. non-obese subjects. Since leptin is in a positive feedback loop with the pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha, there is a possibility that leptin is involved as a regulatory rather than an etiologic mechanism of asthma development. Weight loss is associated with decreased circulating leptin concentration in children. Weight control program may need to be considered in the treatment of asthma in obese children.
McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. xiao-mei.mai@sintef.no
The increase of asthma has paralleled the rising obesity during the past decades. Obesity is characterized by the increase of leptin in the circulation. Leptin is an obesity gene product, and it can stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6 and interferon (IFN)-gamma. There is a link between leptin and asthma, especially in children. It remains unclear however, if leptin is in the pathway of obesity-asthma relationship and if it plays a distinctive role in asthma in obese vs. non-obese subjects. Since leptin is in a positive feedback loop with the pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha, there is a possibility that leptin is involved as a regulatory rather than an etiologic mechanism of asthma development. Weight loss is associated with decreased circulating leptin concentration in children. Weight control program may need to be considered in the treatment of asthma in obese children.
