Objective: To determine whether the blood concentrations of leptin and soluble leptin receptor (LEPR) hang in women after bilateral ovariectomy, and whether there is a relationship between the concentrations of leptin, LEPR and LH, FSH and 17 b-estradiol before and after castration. Design: Prospective clinical study. Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and the General Faculty Hospital, Prague. Methods: 10 women of reproductive age (31–37 years) with a regular menstrual cycle were inclu- ded in the study. Blood samples were always taken during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle and 5 days after bilateral ovariectomy. In 9 women, hysterectomy was performed with the bilateral ovariectomy. Evaluated parameters: leptin, soluble leptin receptor, FSH, LH, 17 b-estradiol and BMI. Serum soluble leptin receptor and leptin concentrations were determined using commercial ELISA kits. Serum concentrations of FSH, LH, and 17 b-estradiol were determined using commercial RIA kits. Results: We did not find any statistically significant changes in the concentration of leptin (8.9 ± 5.5 vs 7 ± 5.6) and LEPR (16.2 ± 5.6 vs 20.9 ± 8.9) before and after surgical castration. After surgery, according to expectations, the concentration of LH and FSH significantly increased while the concentration of 17 b-estradiol decreased (P < 0.05). Five days after surgical castration we found only a tendency toward decrease in the concentration of leptin and an increase in the LEPR concentration. The differences were not statistically significant. Except for the positive correlation between leptin concentration and BMI, we did not find any statistically significant correlation between the concentrations of leptin and LEPR and any of the other evaluated parameters in both groups. Conclusion: In our study, there was a significant decrease in 17 b-estradiol concentration five days after surgery. In contrast, the concentrations of FSH and LH significantly increased after surgery, which is in agreement with the expected endocrinological changes after ovariectomy. There was a tendency toward a decrease in serum concentrations of leptin and increase in serum concentration of LEPR after surgery, but it was not statistically significant, which is in contrast to another study published regarding this topic.

        Key words: leptin, soluble leptin receptor, ovariectomy