Adiponectin is a very popular adipose-tissue-derived cytokine that is currently under extensive investigation. Several studies have suggested that a low adiponectin concentration (an abnormality commonly found in patients with excess visceral adiposity) could increase risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this study, the investigators tested the hypothesis that plasma levels of adiponectin and leptin, another adipose tissue-derived cytokine, were associated with variation in carotid intima-media thickness and distensibility as assessed by high resolution ultrasound. The main finding was that a low adiponectin concentration was tied to the progression of atherosclerosis and the worsening of stiffness of central arteries in a sample of post-menopausal women followed for a period of one year. This relationship between adiponectinemia and arterial morphology/function was largely independent of traditional CVD risk factors. There was no association between changes in leptinemia and the indices of carotid artery morphology and function examined by the investigators. The authors concluded that, in post-menopausal non-diabetic women, low levels of adiponectin might be associated with adverse changes in morphology and function of central arteries over time in a manner independent of traditional risk factors.
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