Obestatin is associated to muscle strength, functional capacity and cognitive status in old women

Abstract

Obestatin has been proposed to have anorexigenic and anti-ghrelin actions. The objective was to study obestatin concentrations in relation to handgrip strength, functional capacity and cognitive state in old women. The prospective study included 110 women (age, 76.93±6.32) from the Mataró Ageing Study. Individuals were characterized by anthropometric variables, grip strength, Barthel and assessment of cognitive impairment [Mini Cognoscitive Examination (MCE) Spanish version], depressive status by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and frailty by the Fried criteria. Obestatin was measured by IRMA. Obestatin showed negative correlation to handgrip at basal time point (r= −0.220, p=0.023) and at 2-year follow-up (r=−0.344, p=0.002). Obestatin, divided into quartiles, showed a negative lineal association with handgrip: 11.03 ± 4.88 kg in first, 8.75±4.08 kg in second, 8.11±3.66 kg in third and 7.61±4.08 kg in fourth quartile (p=0.018). Higher obestatin levels were associated to increased weakness (categorized by handgrip of frailty criteria): 2.24±0.42 ng/ml in weak vs. 1.87±0.57 ng/ml in nonweak (p=0.01). The decrease of either MCE or Barthel scores at 2-year follow-up was significantly higher in individuals in the fourth quartile of obestatin in comparison with individuals in the first quartile (p=0.046 and p=0.019, respectively). No association was found between obestatin and GDS score and neither with frailty as a condition. Obestatin is associated to low muscle strength, and impaired functional and cognitive capacity in old women participating in the Mataró Ageing Study.

Obesity and Brain Function: The Brain–Body Crosstalk

“…Obesity has been linked with functional and structural brain change in neuroimaging studies and is associated with a risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [ 9 ]. The underlying mechanism is that adipokines, such as interleukin (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and leptin, are able to cross the blood–brain barrier and affect the brain [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. In this review, we critically examine the relationship between obesity and the brain.…”