Hyperghrelinemia does not accelerate gastric emptying in Prader-Willi syndrome patients.
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the most common form of syndromic obesity associated with hyperphagia. Because ghrelin stimulates gastric motility in rodents, and PWS patients have 3- to 4-fold higher fasting plasma ghrelin concentrations than normal subjects, we hypothesized that hyperphagia associated with PWS may be partly explained by rapid gastric emptying due to the increased gastric motility caused by ghrelin. We determined gastric emptying times (GETs) and measured ghrelin levels in 11 PWS children and 11 age-, sex-, and body mass index-matched controls using a standard meal containing [(99m)Tc]diaminetriaminepentacetate. Median plasma ghrelin levels before (precibum) and after the GET study were higher in PWS patients than in controls (P = 0.004 and P = 0.001, respectively). Median percent gastric retentions at 90 min after the standard meal were 57.1% (range, 34.0-83.2%) in PWS patients and 40.2% (range, 27.2-60.2%) in controls (P = 0.03). In particular, precibum ghrelin concentrations were not significantly correlated with the rate of gastric emptying in PWS patients (P = 0.153; r = 0.461) or controls (P = 0.911; r = 0.048). Our results show that gastric emptying in PWS is reduced despite higher ghrelin levels, and that the voracious appetite associated with PWS is related to another mechanism.
Choe
Yon Ho
YH
Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Il-Won Dong, Gang-Nam Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea.
Jin
Dong-Kyu
DK
Kim
Sang Eun
SE
Song
Sang Yong
SY
Paik
Kyung Hoon
KH
Park
Hwa Young
HY
Oh
Yoo Joung
YJ
Kim
An Hee
AH
Kim
Jung Sim
JS
Kim
Chi Wha
CW
Chu
Su-Hyun
SH
Kwon
Eun Kyung
EK
Lee
Kyung Han
KH
D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005746:Gastric Emptying / Q000502:physiology*; D054439:Ghrelin; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D011218:Prader-Willi Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012016:Reference Values
D054439:Ghrelin; D036361:Peptide Hormones