Investigation of serum nesfatin-1, leptin, ghrelin and orexin-A levels and the factors that may be related to them in patients diagnosed with panic disorder

The number of studies investigating the relationship of neuropeptides such as nesfatin-1, leptin, orexin-A and ghrelin with psychiatric disorders is increasing. The association of panic disorder (PD) with these neuropeptides has not been adequately studied. In this study, it was aimed to compare serum nesfatin-1, leptin, orexin-A and total ghrelin levels of PD patients with healthy control group. The study included 32 PD patients who applied to the psychiatry outpatient clinic of Fırat University Medical Faculty Hospital and met the study criteria, and 32 healthy controls who were similar to the patient group in terms of sociodemographics. Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Form was applied to all patients and healthy controls, and the DSM-5 Panic Disorder Scale was applied to the patients. Venous blood samples were then taken. After routine treatments, the same procedures were applied to the patient group again. Measurements were performed with the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. SPSS 22.0 package program was used to evaluate the data. Serum nesfatin-1, leptin, orexin-A and ghrelin levels of the patient group were found to be significantly lower than the healthy control group (p<0.001) (p<0.001) (p<0.001) (p<0.001). When the serum nesfatin-1, leptin, orexin-A and ghrelin levels of the patient group were compared before and after routine treatment, significant differences were found in terms of orexin-A and ghrelin levels (p=0,046) (p<0,001), but no significant difference was found in terms of leptin and nesfatin-1 levels (p=0,988) (p=0,205). A significant positive correlation was found between body mass index and leptin, orexin-A and ghrelin (r=0.587; p=0.001) (r=0.520; p=0.003) (r=0.526; p=0.002). In conclusion, this study reports that PD, like other anxiety disorders, may affect serum nesfatin-1, leptin, orexin-A and ghrelin levels, and there may be a relationship between PD treatment and the levels of these neuropeptides. The variability of this relationship among the neuropeptides examined shows that various factors other than treatment play a role in this process. More comprehensive studies are needed to elucidate the possible relationship between PB and these neuropeptides. Keywords: Nesfatin-1, leptin, orexin-A, ghrelin, panic disorder