Abstract
Objective: Short-term fasting is associated with increased GH pulsatility and mobilisation of fats, but underlying mechanisms are unclear. We studied ghrelin's role during fasting and the effects of exogenous ghrelin on lipid mobilisation. Design: Randomised placebo-controlled study. Methods: In this study, ten controls (body mass index (BMI) 23.3±3.2), ten morbidly obese subjects (BMI 50.1±10.6) and six post-gastrectomy subjects (BMI 25.2±1.0) were fasted for 36 h undergoing regular blood sampling. On a separate occasion, subjects were infused with either i.v. ghrelin (5 pmol/kg per min) or saline over 270 min. Results: Obese and post-gastrectomy subjects had lower ghrelin compared with controls (ANOVA, P=0.02) during the fast. Controls and gastrectomy subjects showed a similar increase in GH pulsatility, circulating non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and 3β-hydroxybutyrate (3 HB). Obese subjects had an impaired GH response (P
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 45-55 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | European Journal of Endocrinology |
Volume | 165 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2011 |