LEP and Insulin resistance: In a subsequent study conducted during Ramadan by the same group [176] on healthy young volunteers (5 females, 18 males; mean age 23.2 years), it was found that concomitant with an abolished circadian rhythm of cortisol and continuously elevated cortisol levels, increased leptin and low adiponectin levels favoring insulin resistance, there was disrupted mRNA expression and levels of CLOCK and glucocorticoid-controlled genes, such as DUSP1 and IL-1α, as assessed in circulating leukocytes.