[See: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].

[See: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].

Khabour et al. (2010) investigated the possible contribution of the rs7799039 (-2548C/A) SNP of leptin (LEP) gene to human longevity phenotype in Jordanian population. The study included 110 randomly selected elderly subjects (>85 years old) with mean age of 90.2 years, and 120 young control subjects (range from 20 to 50 years) with mean age of 32.0 years. No significant differences were detected in the genotype and allele frequency of the examined gene variant between the two groups. However, when gender was considered, the genotype and allele frequency of rs7799039 (-2548C/A) in LEP gene was significantly associated with longevity in men, but not in women.

[See also: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].

Al-Shoumer et al. (2000) examined leptin status in 29 hyperthyroid Arab patients (19 females and 10 males) and 32 healthy controls (20 females and 12 males) matched for age, ethnic status and body mass index prior to and following antithyroid treatment with carbimazole-titrating dose. The study cohort consisted of Arabs residing in Kuwait from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Fasting blood was assembled for the measurement of leptin, glucose, insulin and C-peptide. Al-Shoumer et al. (2000) found that leptin concentration was decreased in Arab women with hyperthyroidism and no correlation was found among six months of antithyroid treatment and modifications in leptin levels.

[See: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].

[See: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].

[See: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].

[See: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].

[See: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].

Snoussi et al. (2006) investigated the effect of genetic variations in the LEP gene on genetic susceptibility to and prognosis in breast cancer. A total of 308 unrelated Tunisian patients (mean age - 50 years) with primary breast cancer (unilateral tumors) with no family history of the disease, were compared to a set of 222 normal, unrelated healthy Tunisian women as control (mean age - 48 years). Genomic DNA was extracted and analyzed by PCR using primers specific to the LEP gene, followed by RFLP using CfoI. The allele frequencies of the gene in the population were found to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both groups. Carriers of [-2548 (AA)] and [-2548 (GA)] genotypes were found to have a significantly higher susceptibility to development of breast cancer. The frequency of the -2548A allele was found to be significantly higher in patients with large tumor size. Additionally, the -2548A allele showed lower 3- and 6-year disease free survival rate (85.29% and 60.29% respectively) as compared to the -2548G allele (95.59% and 79.41%). The study did not reveal any predictive value of the genotypes for clinical responses to chemotherapy. However, Snoussi et al. (2006) were able to show a poorer prognosis in breast cancer for the -2548A allele.

[See: Kuwait > Al-Shoumer et al., 2000].