Ghrelin News and Research

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Ghrelin is a hormone produced mainly by P/D1 cells lining the fundus of the human stomach and epsilon cells of the pancreas that stimulates appetite. Ghrelin levels increase before meals and decrease after meals. It is considered the counterpart of the hormone leptin, produced by adipose tissue, which induces satiation when present at higher levels. Ghrelin is also produced in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus where it stimulates the secretion of growth hormone from the anterior pituitary gland.

Anti-obesity vaccine keeps rats trim

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California in the U.S. have developed an anti-obesity vaccine that significantly slowed weight gain and reduced body fat in rats even when they over ate.

1 Aug 2006

Sleep deprivation doubles risks of obesity in both children and adults

Research by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that sleep deprivation is associated with an almost a two-fold increased risk of being obese for both children and adults.

19 Jul 2006

Lack of sleep associated with obesity in both children and adults

Research by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that sleep deprivation is associated with an almost a two-fold increased risk of being obese for both children and adults.

12 Jul 2006

Ghrelin involved in development of diabetes

Ghrelin, a hormone long considered a key player in obesity, may instead take a major role in maintaining the balance between insulin and glucose and the development of diabetes, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report in the current issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

11 May 2006

The less a child sleeps, the more likely he or she is to become overweight

The risk of becoming overweight is 3.5 times higher in children who get less sleep than in those who sleep a lot, according to researchers Jean-Philippe Chaput, Marc Brunet, and Angelo Tremblay.

16 Apr 2006

We may learn best on an empty stomach!

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found evidence that a hormone produced in the stomach directly stimulates the higher brain functions of spatial learning and memory development.

23 Feb 2006

Newly discovered hormone obestatin could help fight obesity

They hope that the hormone, obestatin, which belongs to the same family ghrelin, which stimulates the appetite, may be a key to the fight against obesity.

13 Nov 2005

New discovery helps explain complex neurocircuitry behind body weight control

A study led by a scientific team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) provides another important step in our understanding of the critical role that the brain's molecular pathways play in the development of obesity and related disorders.

7 Nov 2005

Scientists unravel complex mechanisms in the brain that regulate body weight

Scientists are one step closer to unraveling the complex mechanisms in the brain that regulate body weight. Working with mice -- whose appetites are controlled by systems very similar to those in humans – they have identified a specific type of neuron that is essential for feeding behavior.

30 Oct 2005

Fructose sweetning could be even worse than using other sweeteners

A University of Cincinnati (UC) study provides new evidence that drinking large amounts of beverages containing fructose adds body fat, and might explain why sweetening with fructose could be even worse than using other sweeteners.

31 Jul 2005

Brain system that controls the sleep/wake cycle might also play a role in regulating appetite and metabolism

A new mouse study suggests that a brain system that controls the sleep/wake cycle might also play a role in regulating appetite and metabolism. Mice with a mutation in a gene called "Clock," which helps drive circadian rhythm, ate significantly more and gained more weight.

22 Apr 2005

Research suggests that lack of sleep may be contributing to the obesity pandemic

The recent rise in obesity may be partly due to the reduced amount of time we spend asleep, according to new research from the University of Bristol, UK.

6 Dec 2004

Ghrelin may help reduce obsesity in children with genetic disorder

What if your child’s overeating was so uncontrollable that it led to eating out of the garbage, ransacking the kitchen and getting arrested for stealing food?

15 Jul 2004

Obese people who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery show declines in levels of ghrelin hormone that stimulates appetite

This finding possibly explains, the loss of hunger sensation and rapid weight loss observed following gastric bypass. The study has been published in the July issue of The Archives of Surgery.

13 Jul 2004

Nighttime surge of ghrelin may point to new targets for treating obesity

UCLA scientists have discovered that lean people experience a huge nighttime surge of ghrelin — the hormone that stimulates hunger — but obese people do not.

29 Jun 2004

Fat fighting undermined by over active eating pacemaker

They have revealed a set of pacemaker nerve cells in the brain that appear to underlie the drive to feed which itself feeds on a complex web of signals.

11 May 2004