[Food intake: who controls what?].
Since the discovery of leptin and the characterization of the mechanisms leading to obesity in several animal models, considerable advance has been gained in the field of energy homeostasis. The hypothalamus plays a pivotal role in the short and long term regulatory loops that control food intake and body weight. Multiple peripheral signals, including leptin and insulin, convey information on the nutritional and metabolic status to the central nervous system. In the hypothalamus, these signals modulate several neuropeptides and intricate neuronal pathways that trigger appropriate responses of food intake and also of the autonomous nervous system and of the pituitary functions. Peripheral signals and hypothalamic neuropeptides, characterized in the last decade may represent potential targets for new pharmacological treatments of obesity. However, because of the complexity of weight regulation, such approaches may appear troublesome.
Service d'Endocrinologie, Maladies Métaboliques et Nutrition, CHU Nord, Chemin des Bourrely, Lab Interactions fonctionnelles en neuroendocrinologie, IFR Jean-Roche, Faculté de Médecine Secteur Nord, Marseille, France. frederic.dadoun@ap-hm.fr
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D000344:Afferent Pathways; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D004435:Eating; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology; D007328:Insulin / Q000502:physiology; D020738:Leptin / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000502:physiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy; D015398:Signal Transduction
D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin; D009479:Neuropeptides