Fat-cell hormone linked to kidney disease

Reduced levels of a hormone produced by fat cells and linked to the development of insulin resistance may also be related to a higher risk of kidney disease, according to a study led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Thomas Jefferson University. Their study, to be published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation on April 22, could point the way to drug therapies that can protect renal and cardiac function in patients with obesity.