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Uncovering Inflammation’s Role in Heart Failure: Dr. Jamie Ann Rausch’s Exploration of Leptin and Adiponectin

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Dr. Jamie Ann Rausch, assistant professor at the IU School of Nursing in Fort Wayne, has dedicated her research to understanding the biological links between systemic inflammation and chronic diseases, focusing on the role of adipokines, leptin, and adiponectin—hormones that regulate inflammation. Her ultimate goal is to uncover how these factors influence symptoms and risks associated with chronic diseases, particularly heart failure, one of the most widespread and severe cardiovascular conditions affecting over 6.2 million Americans.

During her nursing career, Dr. Rausch maintained a list of 17 topics she was curious to explore, and remarkably, every single one involved an inflammatory component. When she began her PhD journey, she chose to dive into one key area of that list: inflammation’s role in peripheral vasculature and wound healing. As a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar, she was paired with Dr. Jodi McDaniel at Ohio State University, who studies inflammation in chronic venous leg ulcers. Together, they began exploring the intricate relationship between leptin and adiponectin in systemic inflammation.

“Most people think of fat tissue as merely storage for excess energy,” Dr. Rausch explains. “But now we know it’s the largest endocrine organ in the human body, releasing more than 100 different hormones that influence processes all over the body.”

Her current study, still in its pilot phase, aims to analyze leptin, adiponectin, and the leptin-to-adiponectin ratio (LAR) as potential early indicators of inflammation in heart failure patients. Unlike many studies that investigate leptin and adiponectin separately, Dr. Rausch is focusing on the ratio between the two hormones, which she believes is a more accurate reflection of overall inflammation status. Leptin, often known as the "hunger hormone," and adiponectin play both pro- and anti-inflammatory roles; leptin tends to have more pro-inflammatory effects while adiponectin primarily has anti-inflammatory effects. By studying them together through the LAR, she hopes to gain a clearer understanding of their collective impact on inflammation and heart failure progression.

"By the time traditional inflammation markers like CRP or IL-6 show changes, damage may already be done," Dr. Rausch notes. "But with the leptin-to-adiponectin ratio, we might catch inflammation earlier and intervene before irreversible tissue and organ damage occurs."

In collaboration with the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), her team is preparing to recruit heart failure patients to participate in the study. The data they gather will include hormone levels, clinical measures like EKG and echocardiogram readings, and quality of life assessments. Long-term, Dr. Rausch envisions that measuring LAR could become as routine as checking cholesterol levels during patient visits. She hopes this research will lead to early interventions that could reduce inflammation, improve symptoms, and enhance overall quality of life for heart failure patients.

If successful, Dr. Rausch’s study could pave the way for using LAR as a standard biomarker for heart failure and potentially other chronic diseases tied to inflammation. "Inflammation is at the core of every chronic disease," she says. "If we can control it, we might be able to prevent long-term damage and improve lives."

  • Vital Signs Newsroom
    • 2025
    • 2024
      • December 2024 BSN graduate features
      • Celebrating Faculty and Student Excellence: Harm Prevention Partners Program Impact
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Heather Hardin
      • Alumni Feature: Dawn Sites
      • Student Feature: Heather Ward
      • Donor Feature: Susan Buhr
      • Student Feature: Grace Heitzmann
      • Dr. Miyeon Jung
      • First-Generation Student: Chyna Gates
      • Resilience Redefined
      • Making Tomorrow Possible
      • Faculty Research: Dr. Kristin Levoy
      • Student Feature: Dayton Livingston
      • Alumni Feature: Savannah Langbehn
      • Donor Feature: Dr. Rose Mays
      • Bryan White and Marian Gilhooly lead in developing cultural competencies for the nursing curriculum
      • IU School of Nursing addresses state's nursing shortage with largest beginning class ever
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Greg Carter
      • Celebrating Clinical Nurse Specialists!
      • Senior nursing students Serin Kang and Tomi Abegunde are ready for the start of the fall semester
      • Dr. Yvonne Lu's community-based research aims to increase health literacy about Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia among African Americans
      • IU student nurses experience healthcare in Kenya
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Elizabeth Holtel
      • Dr. Jane von Gaudecker receives $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to address epilepsy treatment gap in western Kenya
      • Catalyst for change in The Kingdom of Eswatini
      • Fagan and Howle named Jonas Scholars
      • Jennifer Fuentes
      • Charlotte Carlley
      • IU School of Nursing Faculty Promotions
      • Dr. Jamie Rausch awarded August Tomusk Research Fund grant
      • Top 100: Gillienne Boyd
      • Elite 50: Stephanie Zidek
      • Top 100: Megan Szymanski
      • Top 100: Abby Henderson
      • Top 100: Emma Bucher
      • Kay Farmer
      • Kiki Suttle
      • Elham Algashgari
      • U.S. News & World Report's Best Online Nursing Rankings 2024
      • Top 100: Valliei Chandrakumar
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Cindy Hill
      • Top 100: Tatum Murawski
      • Faculty Feature: Britney Arce
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Melanie Gall
      • National Mentoring Month: Drs. Pei-Shiun Chang and Yvonne Lu
      • $15.5 million NIH award funds development of national network to include nursing home residents in clinical trials
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Teams!
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Teams!
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Teams!
      • Student Feature: Ella Colclesser
      • Hispanic Heritage Month
      • Faculty Research: Dr. Jane von Gaudecker
      • Faculty Research: Dr. Jamie Rausch
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Teams!
      • Faculty Research: Dr. Jennifer Brower
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Volunteers!
      • Graduate student: Sarah Kenny
      • Hispanic Heritage Month Comes to a Close
      • Faculty Driving Change: Linda Romines and Sheila Wright
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