Postprandial ghrelin suppression is exaggerated following major surgery; implications for nutritional recovery.

Meeting patients' nutritional requirements and preventing malnutrition is a challenge following major surgical procedures. The role of ghrelin in nutritional recovery after non-gastrointestinal major surgery is unknown. We used coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) as an example of anticipated good recovery post major surgery.Seventeen patients undergoing CABG (mean +/- SEM: 70.1 +/- 2.2 yrs, BMI 29.1 +/- 1.4 kg/m2, 15 male) underwent fasting and postprandial (45 mins after standard test breakfast) blood sampling pre-operatively (day 0), post-operatively (day 6) and at follow-up (day 40). Changes in food intake, biochemical and anthropometric markers of nutritional status were recorded. A comparison was made to 17 matched healthy controls (70.6 +/- 2.3 yrs, BMI 28.4 +/- 1.3 kg/m2).We observed significantly increased post-operative and follow-up fasting ghrelin concentrations compared with pre-operatively (pre-op. 402 +/- 42 pmol/L vs post-op. 642 +/- 97 pmol/L vs follow-up 603 +/- 94 pmol/L) (ANOVA p < 0.05). Significantly exaggerated postprandial suppression of ghrelin was seen postoperatively and continued until follow-up (Delta pre-op. 10 +/- 51 pmol/L vs Delta post-op. -152 +/- 43 pmol/L vs Delta follow-up -159 +/- 65 pmol/L, p < 0.05). This was associated with a 50% reduction in food intake {post-op. 4.5 +/- 0.5 MJ/D (1076 +/- 120 kcal/D) compared with estimated requirements 9.9 +/- 0.5 MJ/D (2366 +/- 120 kcal/D)}, leading to a 4% weight loss and a 5% reduction in muscle arm circumference loss over length of follow up.Our data support the hypothesis that prolonged changes in fasting and postprandial plasma ghrelin concentrations are associated with impaired nutritional recovery after CABG. These findings reinforce the need to investigate ghrelin in other patients groups undergoing major surgery.

Changes in appetite related gut hormones in intensive care unit patients: a pilot cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: The nutritional status of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) appears to decline not only during their stay in the ICU but also after discharge from the ICU. Recent evidence suggests that gut released peptides, such as ghrelin and peptide YY (PYY) regulate the initiation and termination of meals and could play a role in the altered eating behaviour of sick patients. The aim of this study was to assess the patterns of ghrelin and PYY levels during the stay of ICU patients in hospital. METHODS: Sixteen ICU patients (60 +/- 4.7 years, body mass index (BMI) 28.1 +/- 1.7 kg/m2 (mean +/- standard error of the mean)) underwent fasting blood sample collections on days 1, 3, 5, 14, 21 and 28 of their stay at Hammersmith and Charing Cross Hospitals. Changes in appetite and biochemical and anthropometric markers of nutritional status were recorded. A comparison was made to a group of 36 healthy volunteers matched for age and BMI (54.3 +/- 2.9 years, p = 0.3; BMI 25.8 +/- 0.8 kg/m2 p = 0.2). RESULTS: Compared to healthy subjects, ICU patients exhibited a significantly lower level of ghrelin (day one 297.8 +/- 76.3 versus 827.2 +/- 78.7 pmol/l, p < 0.001) during their stay in the ICU. This tended to rise to the normal level during the last three weeks of hospital stay. Conversely, ICU patients showed a significantly higher level of PYY (day one 31.5 +/- 9.6 versus 11.3 +/- 1.0 pmol/l, p < 0.05) throughout their stay in the ICU and on the ward, with a downward trend to the normal level during the last three weeks of stay. CONCLUSIONS: Results from our study show high levels of PYY and low levels of ghrelin in ICU patients compared to healthy controls. There appears to be a relationship between the level of these gut hormones and nutritional intake.

Fasting and postprandial hyperghrelinemia in Prader-Willi syndrome is partially explained by hypoinsulinemia, and is not due to peptide YY3-36 deficiency or seen in hypothalamic obesity due to craniopharyngioma.

The cause of the unique elevation in fasting plasma levels of the orexigenic gastric hormone ghrelin in many patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is unclear. We measured fasting and postprandial plasma ghrelin in nonobese (n = 16 fasting and n = 8 postprandial) and obese non-PWS adults (n = 16 and 9), adults with genetically confirmed PWS (n = 26 and 10), and patients with hypothalamic obesity from craniopharyngioma tumors (n = 9 and 6). We show that 1) plasma ghrelin levels decline normally after food consumption in PWS, but there is still fasting and postprandial hyperghrelinemia relative to the patient's obesity (2.0-fold higher fasting ghrelin, 1.8-fold higher postprandial ghrelin, adjusting for percentage of body fat); 2) the fasting and postprandial hyperghrelinemia in PWS appears to be at least partially, but possibly not solely, explained by the concurrent relative hypoinsulinemia and preserved insulin sensitivity for the patient's obesity (residual 1.3- to 1.6-fold higher fasting ghrelin, 1.2- to 1.5-fold higher postprandial ghrelin in PWS, adjusting for insulin levels or homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance); 3) hyperghrelinemia and hypoinsulinemia are not found in craniopharyngioma patients with hypothalamic obesity, and indeed, these patients have relative hyperinsulinemia for their obesity; and 4) there is no deficiency of the anorexigenic intestinal hormone peptide YY(3-36) in PWS contributing to their hyperghrelinemia.

Elevated fasting plasma ghrelin in prader-willi syndrome adults is not solely explained by their reduced visceral adiposity and insulin resistance.

Plasma ghrelin is elevated in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). This might contribute to obesity or GH deficiency in such patients. Visceral adiposity and insulin resistance are reduced in PWS, which might lead to hyperghrelinemia. We measured fasting plasma ghrelin in control female (n = 39), PWS female (n = 12), and PWS male (n = 6) adults. In controls and PWS, ghrelin was negatively correlated with visceral adiposity, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model insulin resistance index. There was no significant correlation with serum IGF-I in PWS. In stepwise linear regression, visceral adiposity (P < 0.02) had a stronger inverse correlation with ghrelin than sc fat depots in controls and PWS, possibly through hyperinsulinemia, as the correlations with insulin resistance were even stronger (P < 0.01). PWS females had significantly (P < 0.001) elevated ghrelin (mean +/- SD, 661 +/- 360 pg/ml), compared with both nonobese (363 +/- 163) and obese (191 +/- 66) controls. Ghrelin was increased 3.4- to 3.6-fold in PWS females adjusting for total adiposity, 3.2- to 3.4-fold adjusting for visceral adiposity, and 3.0-fold adjusting for insulin resistance. Fasting plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 was normal in PWS females. The hyperghrelinemia in PWS adults is therefore not solely explained by their reduced visceral adiposity and relative hypoinsulinemia. Its cause and consequences await further elucidation.

Gut hormone PYY(3-36) physiologically inhibits food intake.

Food intake is regulated by the hypothalamus, including the melanocortin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) systems in the arcuate nucleus. The NPY Y2 receptor (Y2R), a putative inhibitory presynaptic receptor, is highly expressed on NPY neurons in the arcuate nucleus, which is accessible to peripheral hormones. Peptide YY(3-36) (PYY(3-36)), a Y2R agonist, is released from the gastrointestinal tract postprandially in proportion to the calorie content of a meal. Here we show that peripheral injection of PYY(3-36) in rats inhibits food intake and reduces weight gain. PYY(3-36) also inhibits food intake in mice but not in Y2r-null mice, which suggests that the anorectic effect requires the Y2R. Peripheral administration of PYY(3-36) increases c-Fos immunoreactivity in the arcuate nucleus and decreases hypothalamic Npy messenger RNA. Intra-arcuate injection of PYY(3-36) inhibits food intake. PYY(3-36) also inhibits electrical activity of NPY nerve terminals, thus activating adjacent pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons. In humans, infusion of normal postprandial concentrations of PYY(3-36) significantly decreases appetite and reduces food intake by 33% over 24 h. Thus, postprandial elevation of PYY(3-36) may act through the arcuate nucleus Y2R to inhibit feeding in a gut-hypothalamic pathway.

Men at increased risk of coronary heart disease are not different from age- and weight-matched healthy controls in their postprandial triglyceride, nonesterified fatty acid, or incretin responses to sucrose.

Short-term studies suggest that extreme sucrose consumption has a detrimental effect on triglycerides (TG) in hypertriglyceridemic people. There is currently no consensus on the short-term inclusion of a moderate intake of sucrose in middle-aged men at increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). It is also unknown whether gut hormones that are released in response to carbohydrate ingestion modulate any of the effects of sucrose. The aim of this study was to further elucidate whether men at increased risk of CHD have an exaggerated response to sucrose compared with age- and weight-matched controls over an acute postprandial period. Twenty middle-aged men were recruited and separated into control (total cholesterol < 5.5 mmol/L) and increased risk of CHD (> 5.5 mmol/L) groups. We measured postprandial TG, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), insulin, glucose, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) concentrations in response to a meal containing 75 g glucose or 75 g sucrose with a moderate fat load. The increased risk group had significantly higher Framingham risk assessment (12% v 4%), TG (2.4 +/- 1.5 v 1.1 +/- 0.4 mmol/L), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (4.4 +/- 0.5 v 2.7 +/- 0.4 mmol/L), and lower high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (1.2 +/- 0.2 v 1.5 +/- 0.2 mmol/L) (P <.05 for all). There was no significant difference in the incremental area under the curve (IAUC, 0 to 360 minutes) for TG, NEFA, glucose, GLP-1, or GIP in response to glucose or sucrose within or between the groups. Absolute total area under the curve (not IAUC) for TG was significantly higher in the increased risk group for both glucose and sucrose, respectively (P =.01). A total of 75 g of sucrose given as part of a single meal appears to make little difference in the postprandial TG and NEFA response in men with or without risk of CHD compared with glucose. Although long-term data is needed, this begs the question whether a moderate intake of sucrose has been overemphasized as a detrimental dietary message in middle-aged men.