Investigation of leptin and ghrelin hormones in obese and non-obese cats

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. The causes of obesity are not clear as there are many different variables involved in its development. 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) and blood samples were collected. Blood samples were taken from the vena jugularis into tubes without anticoagulant from cats in both groups. After the blood samples were centrifuged, their serums were separated and stored at -20°C until serum analysis. Then, 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.