A review of recent advances in the understanding of ghrelin's effect on hunger

Kola and Korbonits have recently reviewed the actions of ghrelin in suppressing appetite, a hot topic in endocrinology. Ghrelin is a hormone that has been identified as having a role in inducing appetite and its investigation could lead to developments in the treatment of obesity. The review of recent studies led the authors to construct a hypothesis explaining the intracellular pathway for ghrelin. The authors propose that many more areas need more investigation including, the pathways and mechanisms of central ghrelin and its role in peripheral metabolism. Given the increase in the number of patients with obesity, further studies into ghrelin, AMPK and other factors involved in appetite regulation are extremely important.

Kola, B, Korbonits, M. Journal of Endocrinology 2009 DOI 10.1677/JOE-09-0056