Reductions in plasma cytokine levels with weight loss improve insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese postmenopausal women. Diabetes Care 2004; 27:1699-1705. Study of Omentin1... Mahde et al

OBJECTIVE — The purpose of this study was to determine whether improvements in insulin sensitivity with weight loss are mediated by changes in inflammation in obese, postmenopausal women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS — We studied 58 sedentary, overweight, and obese (BMI 33 1 kg/m2, means SEM) postmenopausal (58 1 year) women at baseline and 37 women who completed 6 months of weight loss induced by diet and exercise. The women underwent 3-h hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps (40 mU m–2 min1) to determine glu-cose utilization (M). Insulin sensitivity was determined as M/I, the amount of glucose metabo-lized per unit of plasma insulin (I). Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, as well as their soluble receptors, were measured. RESULTS — At baseline, CRP concentration was a predictor of both glucose utilization and insulin sensitivity, independent of adiposity, race, and aerobic fitness (M: partial r0.30, P 0.03, and M/I: partial r 0.32, P 0.02). Weight loss resulted in significant reductions in body weight, fat mass, VAT, and fasting glucose and insulin levels (P 0.05). Both glucos