Plasma leptin level is associated with cardiac autonomic dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes: HSCAA study.

Background It has been shown that visceral fat accumulation is associated with autonomic dysfunction, though the precise mechanism remains unclear. A recent basic study found that leptin can directly modulate autonomic function through the dorsomedial hypothalamus in relation to obesity. Here, we investigated the mutual relationships among plasma leptin, visceral fat accumulation, and cardiac autonomic dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes.