Gut hormones in the control of appetite.
Obesity is one of the greatest threats to the health of the developed world. In order to design effective drugs to treat the alarming increase in obesity, it is essential to understand the physiology of normal appetite control and the pathophysiology of obesity. The hypothalamus interprets and integrates neural and humoral inputs to provide a coordinated feeding and energy expenditure response. Recent evidence suggests that certain gut hormones - ghrelin, polypeptide YY, pancreatic polypeptide, glucagon-like-peptide 1 and oxyntomodulin - have a physiological role in governing satiety via the hypothalamus. Gut hormone appetite-regulatory systems represent a potential target for the design of antiobesity drugs.
Murphy
K G
KG
Department of Metabolic Medicine, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12 ONN, UK. s.bloom@imperial.ac.uk
Bloom
S R
SR
D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001067:Appetite Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001069:Appetite Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D001067:Appetite Depressants; D036361:Peptide Hormones