RETN and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: [27], [28] In a study of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, resistin was found to correlate strongly with disease severity, as well as with levels of inflammatory cytokines, lactate D-dimer and creatinine. [29] Another study found that resistin levels were higher among ICU patients with sepsis compared to non-infected controls, and this was unrelated to preexisting diabetes or obesity. [30]