Leptin is, like insulin, an important regulator of body metabolism. It is a protein hormone known to control and regulate the intake and expenditure of energy by the body. It controls appetite as well, and is one of the most important hormones of the adipose, or what are classified as fat tissues.

Tests for Leptin

Visit your doctor or to a medical laboratory if you want to have a leptin test. Leptin levels in the body are measured in a couple of ways, all of which require professional medical/scientific analysis. A lab test can tell the exact count of leptin in the body. ELISA is a well-accepted test for measuring leptin levels in the body. The leptin IRMA test is also an accepted method. Your doctor will help you determine which is the best testing method in your specific situation.

ELISA

You need to have a blood test if your doctor determines that the ELISA test is right for you. ELISA is a test to assess the levels of concentration of leptin in the serum, plasma and cell culture supernatant. Leptin, a polypeptide, is viewed as amino acid residue. Doctors perform ELISA, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, under the "sandwich principle." Doctors collect serum via venipuncture, and the serum is then allowed to clot. Doctors then collect whole blood plasma in centrifuge tubes that contain anticoagulants. The blood should be centrifuged immediately after it is collected. Doctors then extract a leptin molecule and coat it with microtiter wells and monoclonal antibody. A substrate solution forms, which your doctor can use to read leptin levels. The optimal values are 3.84 ng/ml for males and 7.36 for females.

IRMA

You also need to give a blood sample if your doctor decides on the IRMA test. The IRMA test, short for immunoradiometric assay, is essentially a test that uses radioactive material to detect leptin. The doctor collects the sample using the same principle as the ELISA method, since the leptin is again sandwiched between two antibodies. Your doctor extracts the plasma or serum using the same procedure--venipuncture or puncturing the veins. He then adds 60 ml of wash concentrate to the sample and pours it into a clean container and dilutes 1:25 with water. He uses radioactive material to identify lepin concentration. You need to take precautions because the test requires radioactive materials. The doctor should handle the sample per guidelines set out in Occupational Radiation Protection Safety Guide published by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Source:

Beckman Coulter: Human Leptin IRMA

Diagnostis Automaton: Leptin