Plasma Leptin Levels in Children Hospitalized with Cholera in Bangladesh
Leptin is a protein found in every healthy individual and serves the main purpose of regulating fat distribution and storage (metabolism). Because leptin is found in adipose tissue (fat), women are found to typically have higher leptin levels than men, therein showing that females can have elevated Leptin levels as opposed to men.
Leptin also regulates as a functioning hormone and becomes present in the blood stream in immune responses to acute infections. It does this by releasing and promoting protective anti-inflammatory effects, and can do so in cases of Cholera, for example. Cholera is a bacterial disease that is able to be fatal, and typically is contracted by drinking contaminated or unsafe drinking water.
Scientists already know that approximately 3-5 million people develop Cholera annually, and 100,000 of those infected die from it. People who are most at risk for developing cholera are often living in impoverished areas, and may already be undernourished and have nutritional deficiencies. Because Leptin is involved in the metabolism and immune response processes, individuals who are undernourished show lower leptin levels even before developing infection.
Researchers were interested in the link between reading leptin levels and being able to find and indicate presence of Cholera. Scientists then would try to gather information that shows leptin levels rise in response to cholera infections, with the hypothesis that leptin levels would increase in response to cholera infections.The relevance this testing has to the world of science is that by learning more about immune responses, we can better understand the process of cell signaling, and specifically see how Leptin acts a cytokine. (Cytokines are small proteins that are released as and affect the behavior of other cells by signaling.)
Materials and Methods
To continue with this research, the scientists gather 74 children, ages ranging from 6-60 months of age, and clinically stabilized them at the Dhaka Hospital of the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh, India. They then took blood samples of the individual by venipuncture (the withdrawal of a blood sample through intravenous injection) on days 2, 7, and 30, and also used ‘Z Scores’ as set up the WHO (World Health Organization)
Z Scores were as follows: WAZ (Weight for Age) WHZ (Weight for height) HAZ (Height for age)
WAZ >-2 = not moderately/severely undernourished
WAZ -2 to -3= moderately undernourished
WAZ < -3 = severely undernourished
WHZ>-2 = not moderately/severely wasted
WHZ-2 to -3= moderately wasted
WHZ< -3 = severely wasted
HAZ >-2 = not moderately/severely stunted
HAZ -2 to -3= moderately stunted
HAZ < -3 = severely stunted
The researchers then compared the plasma and Leptin levels from the above scores, and plotted the data on graphs. The information gathered was compared against data that would be considered ‘normal’ levels from an individual without Cholera. For leptin level assessment they used a specific test kit called ‘ELISA’, which would show the deviation between the samples withdrawn and the control samples. The same testing kit and method was used to test for other antibodies as well. Statistical analysis was carried through using the above WHO standardized scoring method and kit results, along with being entered into a computer program called Stata. (Stata is a program used by researchers from many different fields to analyze and manage data gathered.)
Results
The results shown in this experiment convey a definite correlation between Leptin levels and Cholera. During the early stages of Cholera, Leptin levels are low but they rise in the later development of Cholera outbreak. Leptin is known to have a specific function in developing the necessary antibody responses to infection so the information gathered left researchers unsure whether it was a cause and effect situation- whether low levels of Leptin placed individuals at risk for Cholera, or if plasma levels fell during the acute stages of the infection. The information suggests that the nutritional and immunological effects are still present within the individual long after they have “stabilized.”
“There are several significant limitations to our study. First, our study is descriptive and not mechanistic,” described the authors of ‘Plasma Leptin Levels in Children Hospitalized with Cholera in Bangladesh’. The researchers identified that though they were able to prove their hypothesis slightly, limitation did prevent them from an outstanding absolute in terms of defining correlation between Cholera and Leptin levels. Limitation to the above study include that the children’s Leptin levels were not recorded before they contracted cholera, so there is no data to show how much of an initial increase/decrease in Leptin there was versus not having cholera.
WORKS CITED
Brie Falkard,*† Taher Uddin,† M. Arifur Rahman, Molly F. Franke, Amena Aktar, Muhammad Ikhtear Uddin, Taufiqur Rahman Bhuiyan, Daniel T. Leung, Richelle C. Charles, Regina C. Larocque, Jason B. Harris, Stephen B. Calderwood, Firdausi Qadri, and Edward T. Ryan. “Plasma Leptin Levels in Children Hospitalized with Cholera in Bangladesh.” Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 93(2), 2015, pp. 244–249
1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine
2. https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=definition%20of%20cholera%20disease
3. https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=do+males+or+females+have+more+adispose+tissue
4. https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=leptin%20definition
REFLECTION
This assignment was unlike any I've had to do thus far, because I've never read a scientific article before. I was first intimidated by the terminology and material, but after reading the article several times and looking up definitions, I was able to understand the information it provided. I chose the article that I did because I wanted to learn something new and be slightly challenged by the topic. Doing this assignment made me think critically, and acquire new knowledge as I had to research and understand the process and results of the research discussed in the scientific article.
Overall, I was able to think critically by reading, understanding, and then reinterpreting the information from the article in a summarized form. I was acquiring new knowledge that was presented to be in a way I have never experienced before. This assignment made me become slightly more familiar with scientific articles, and ever since I have been browsing scientific journals for new and exciting discoveries/research!
Leptin is a protein found in every healthy individual and serves the main purpose of regulating fat distribution and storage (metabolism). Because leptin is found in adipose tissue (fat), women are found to typically have higher leptin levels than men, therein showing that females can have elevated Leptin levels as opposed to men.
Leptin also regulates as a functioning hormone and becomes present in the blood stream in immune responses to acute infections. It does this by releasing and promoting protective anti-inflammatory effects, and can do so in cases of Cholera, for example. Cholera is a bacterial disease that is able to be fatal, and typically is contracted by drinking contaminated or unsafe drinking water.
Scientists already know that approximately 3-5 million people develop Cholera annually, and 100,000 of those infected die from it. People who are most at risk for developing cholera are often living in impoverished areas, and may already be undernourished and have nutritional deficiencies. Because Leptin is involved in the metabolism and immune response processes, individuals who are undernourished show lower leptin levels even before developing infection.
Researchers were interested in the link between reading leptin levels and being able to find and indicate presence of Cholera. Scientists then would try to gather information that shows leptin levels rise in response to cholera infections, with the hypothesis that leptin levels would increase in response to cholera infections.The relevance this testing has to the world of science is that by learning more about immune responses, we can better understand the process of cell signaling, and specifically see how Leptin acts a cytokine. (Cytokines are small proteins that are released as and affect the behavior of other cells by signaling.)
Materials and Methods
To continue with this research, the scientists gather 74 children, ages ranging from 6-60 months of age, and clinically stabilized them at the Dhaka Hospital of the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh, India. They then took blood samples of the individual by venipuncture (the withdrawal of a blood sample through intravenous injection) on days 2, 7, and 30, and also used ‘Z Scores’ as set up the WHO (World Health Organization)
Z Scores were as follows: WAZ (Weight for Age) WHZ (Weight for height) HAZ (Height for age)
WAZ >-2 = not moderately/severely undernourished
WAZ -2 to -3= moderately undernourished
WAZ < -3 = severely undernourished
WHZ>-2 = not moderately/severely wasted
WHZ-2 to -3= moderately wasted
WHZ< -3 = severely wasted
HAZ >-2 = not moderately/severely stunted
HAZ -2 to -3= moderately stunted
HAZ < -3 = severely stunted
The researchers then compared the plasma and Leptin levels from the above scores, and plotted the data on graphs. The information gathered was compared against data that would be considered ‘normal’ levels from an individual without Cholera. For leptin level assessment they used a specific test kit called ‘ELISA’, which would show the deviation between the samples withdrawn and the control samples. The same testing kit and method was used to test for other antibodies as well. Statistical analysis was carried through using the above WHO standardized scoring method and kit results, along with being entered into a computer program called Stata. (Stata is a program used by researchers from many different fields to analyze and manage data gathered.)
Results
The results shown in this experiment convey a definite correlation between Leptin levels and Cholera. During the early stages of Cholera, Leptin levels are low but they rise in the later development of Cholera outbreak. Leptin is known to have a specific function in developing the necessary antibody responses to infection so the information gathered left researchers unsure whether it was a cause and effect situation- whether low levels of Leptin placed individuals at risk for Cholera, or if plasma levels fell during the acute stages of the infection. The information suggests that the nutritional and immunological effects are still present within the individual long after they have “stabilized.”
“There are several significant limitations to our study. First, our study is descriptive and not mechanistic,” described the authors of ‘Plasma Leptin Levels in Children Hospitalized with Cholera in Bangladesh’. The researchers identified that though they were able to prove their hypothesis slightly, limitation did prevent them from an outstanding absolute in terms of defining correlation between Cholera and Leptin levels. Limitation to the above study include that the children’s Leptin levels were not recorded before they contracted cholera, so there is no data to show how much of an initial increase/decrease in Leptin there was versus not having cholera.
WORKS CITED
Brie Falkard,*† Taher Uddin,† M. Arifur Rahman, Molly F. Franke, Amena Aktar, Muhammad Ikhtear Uddin, Taufiqur Rahman Bhuiyan, Daniel T. Leung, Richelle C. Charles, Regina C. Larocque, Jason B. Harris, Stephen B. Calderwood, Firdausi Qadri, and Edward T. Ryan. “Plasma Leptin Levels in Children Hospitalized with Cholera in Bangladesh.” Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 93(2), 2015, pp. 244–249
1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine
2. https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=definition%20of%20cholera%20disease
3. https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=do+males+or+females+have+more+adispose+tissue
4. https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=leptin%20definition
REFLECTION
This assignment was unlike any I've had to do thus far, because I've never read a scientific article before. I was first intimidated by the terminology and material, but after reading the article several times and looking up definitions, I was able to understand the information it provided. I chose the article that I did because I wanted to learn something new and be slightly challenged by the topic. Doing this assignment made me think critically, and acquire new knowledge as I had to research and understand the process and results of the research discussed in the scientific article.
Overall, I was able to think critically by reading, understanding, and then reinterpreting the information from the article in a summarized form. I was acquiring new knowledge that was presented to be in a way I have never experienced before. This assignment made me become slightly more familiar with scientific articles, and ever since I have been browsing scientific journals for new and exciting discoveries/research!