This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 90/6/3367    most recent Author Manuscript (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Choe, Y. H. Articles by Lee, K. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Choe, Y. H. Articles by Lee, K. H. Related Collections Metabolism Obesity

Hyperghrelinemia Does Not Accelerate Gastric Emptying in Prader-Willi Syndrome Patients

Departments of Pediatrics (Y.H.C., H.Y.P., K.H.P., E.K.K., D.K.J.), Nuclear Medicine (K.H.L.), and Pathology (S.Y.S.), Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine (S.E.K.), Seoul; and Clinical Research Center, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute (Y.J.O., A.H.K., J.S.K., C.W.K., S.H.C.), Seoul 135-710, Korea

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Dong-Kyu Jin, Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Il-Won Dong, Gang-Nam Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. E-mail: jindk{at}smc.samsung.co.kr.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the most common form of syndromic obesity associated with hyperphagia. Because ghrelin stimulates gastric motility in rodents, and PWS patients have 3- to 4-fold higher fasting plasma ghrelin concentrations than normal subjects, we hypothesized that hyperphagia associated with PWS may be partly explained by rapid gastric emptying due to the increased gastric motility caused by ghrelin. We determined gastric emptying times (GETs) and measured ghrelin levels in 11 PWS children and 11 age-, sex-, and body mass index-matched controls using a standard meal containing [^99mTc]diaminetriaminepentacetate. Median plasma ghrelin levels before (precibum) and after the GET study were higher in PWS patients than in controls (P = 0.004 and P = 0.001, respectively). Median percent gastric retentions at 90 min after the standard meal were 57.1% (range, 34.0–83.2%) in PWS patients and 40.2% (range, 27.2–60.2%) in controls (P = 0.03). In particular, precibum ghrelin concentrations were not significantly correlated with the rate of gastric emptying in PWS patients (P = 0.153; r = 0.461) or controls (P = 0.911; r = 0.048). Our results show that gastric emptying in PWS is reduced despite higher ghrelin levels, and that the voracious appetite associated with PWS is related to another mechanism.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. P. Goldstone, A. J. Holland, B. P. Hauffa, A. C. Hokken-Koelega, M. Tauber, and on behalf of speakers contributors at the Second E Recommendations for the Diagnosis and Management of Prader-Willi Syndrome J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., November 1, 2008; 93(11): 4183 - 4197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L Miller, G A. James, A. P Goldstone, J. A Couch, G. He, D. J Driscoll, and Y. Liu Enhanced activation of reward mediating prefrontal regions in response to food stimuli in Prader-Willi syndrome J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, June 1, 2007; 78(6): 615 - 619. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. P. Hauffa, K. Haase, I. M. Range, N. Unger, K. Mann, and S. Petersenn The Effect of Growth Hormone on the Response of Total and Acylated Ghrelin to a Standardized Oral Glucose Load and Insulin Resistance in Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., March 1, 2007; 92(3): 834 - 840. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. H. Paik, Y. H. Choe, W. H. Park, Y. J. Oh, A. H. Kim, S. H. Chu, S. W. Kim, E. K. Kwon, S. J. Han, W. Y. Shon, et al. Suppression of Acylated Ghrelin during Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Is Correlated with Whole-Body Insulin Sensitivity in Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2006; 91(5): 1876 - 1881. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]