Investigation of ghrelin and leptin value in obese and non-Obese cats

Abstract

Obesity is the deterioration of metabolic and physiological functions due to excessive accumulation of fat in the body. The main medical concern of obesity, an increasingly common problem in domestic cats, is that it is associated with many diseases that accompany abnormal fat deposition. Leptin and ghrelin are two hormones involved in energy balance. Ghrelin is an orexigenic hormone while leptin is an anorexigenic hormone. There is still not enough information about these two hormones and there is very little research investigating their connection with obesity. The animal material of this study consists of cats of different breeds, ages and genders, which were brought to clinically healthy routine controls and were healthy according to the results of physical examination, hemogram and blood biochemistry. In this study, 20 cats were evaluated with the body fat measurement system in cats. Those with body fat ratio above 30% were considered obese (n=10), those below 30% were considered as the control group (n=10). Leptin and ghrelin values were measured by ELISA method and their relations with each other were evaluated. Serum leptin (p=0.05) and ghrelin (p=0.001) values were determined in cats in both groups, and statistically significant differences were observed. As a result, it was determined that leptin and ghrelin hormones play an important role in obese cats and are related to each other.