Circulating Diabetic Candidate Neurotrophic Factors, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Fibroblast Growth Factor 21, in Sleeve Gastrectomy

Recent studies show brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) are neurotrophic factors associated with obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM). Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) can significantly reduce weight and improve DM. In this study, we enrolled 78 patients with obesity and evaluated the change of BDNF and FGF21 6 months after LSG. At baseline, the BDNF level was similar between the preoperative DM (n = 30) (17.1 ± 7.7 ng/ml) and non-DM (n = 48) (17.0 ± 6.9 ng/ml) patients with obesity, but FGF21 was significantly higher in the DM patients (201.5 ± 204.3 versus 107.6 ± 63.8 pg/ml). At 6 months after LSG, most of the preoperative DM patients (96.7%) had DM either resolved (66.7%) or improved (30%). BDNF increased and FGF21 decreased significantly regardless of the preoperative DM status, while FGF21 decreased more prominently in the preoperative DM patients (−92.6 ± 179.8 versus −4.6 ± 63.4 pg/ml). After adjusted for age, sex, and preoperative DM status, FGF21 became significantly and positively related to C-peptide (β = 18.887), insulin (β = 2.399), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index (β = 8.566) after surgery. In conclusion, diabetic patients with obesity had higher FGF21 and similar BDNF levels compared to non-diabetic obese patients. BDNF increased and FGF21 decreased significantly after LSG. FGF21 became positively associated with several insulin-related profiles after surgery.