Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Adiponectin and resistin belong to the group of adipocytokines, that are thought to be involved in regulation of insulin sensitivity, and that also exert the opposite effects on inflammatory processes related to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk. Glucocorticoids have anti-inflammatory properties, but also increase insulin resistance. There are, however, conflicting data on the effects of glucocorticoids on serum concentrations of adiponectin and resistin.

Material & methods: We assessed serum adiponectin, resistin, fasting glucose and insulin in 17 subjects (14 female), age: 42.53±16.41 years (mean±S.D.), BMI: 37.88±8.53 kg/m², before (day 0), after 24 hours (day 1), and after 48 hours (day 2) of oral administration of dexamethasone (0.5 mg every 6 hours for 48 hours). This dose of dexamethasone is used during the low dose suppression test intended to rule out Cushing’s syndrome.

Results: There was no significant change of adiponectin (12992.5±8172.3 ng/ml, 14607±10464.4 ng/ml, 13420.7±8344.2 ng/ml on day 0, 1 and 2, respectively, P=ns), or resistin (30.56±10.99 ng/ml, 35.12±16.43 ng/ml, 30.18±11.99 ng/ml on day 0, 1 and 2, respectively, P=ns). Insulin resistance assessed by HOMA and QUICKI models increased from day 0 to day 2 (P<0.05). Both HOMA and QUICKI models were equally effective in detecting the changes in insulin sensitivity (r=0.99, P<0.001).

Conclusions: Administration of this dose of dexamethasone (2 grams per day for 48 hours) does not significantly change serum adiponectin and resistin concentrations in overweight and obese individuals despite an increase in insulin resistance assessed by HOMA and QUICKI models. It remains to be established, whether higher doses of glucorticoids may affect serum concentrations of these adipocytokines.