Epithelial ovarian cancer is the most prevalent gynecological malignancy leading to mortality in adults but is an infrequent finding in children and adolescents. Most gynecological tumors found in females younger than age 20 are of germ cell nature. There are very few cases of epithelial ovarian neoplasms reported in the young female population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe opioid system is well recognized as an important regulator of appetite and energy balance. We now hypothesized that the hypothalamic opioid system might modulate the orexigenic effect of ghrelin. Using pharmacological and gene silencing approaches, we demonstrate that ghrelin utilizes a hypothalamic κ-opioid receptor (KOR) pathway to increase food intake in rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Specific neuronal circuits modulate autonomic outflow to liver and white adipose tissue. Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH)-deficient mice are hypophagic, lean, and do not develop hepatosteatosis when fed a high-fat diet. Herein, we sought to investigate the role of MCH, an orexigenic neuropeptide specifically expressed in the lateral hypothalamic area, on hepatic and adipocyte metabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Ghrelin is a stomach-derived peptide that increases food intake through the activation of hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). However, the molecular mechanisms initiated by the activation of the ghrelin receptor, which in turn lead to AMPK activation, remain unclear. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a deacetylase activated in response to calorie restriction that acts through the tumor suppressor gene p53.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is secreted mainly by the intestine in a nutrient-dependent manner and stimulates glucose-induced insulin secretion, inhibits gastric emptying, food intake, and glucagon secretion. All these beneficial effects make GLP-1 as a promising, and currently in the market, drug candidate for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. More recently, it has been also demonstrated that within the central nervous system, GLP-1 also exerts important metabolic actions inhibiting food intake, increasing insulin secretion, and modulating behavioral responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe endocannabinoid system (ECS) has emerged as one of the most relevant regulators of energy balance. The ECS acts through two cannabinoid receptors: types 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2). CB1 receptors are widely expressed in the brain, but are also expressed in adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, the liver, the gut, and the pancreas.
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