RT Journal
A1 Peskin GW
T1 THe best of the best—2002
JF Archives of Surgery
JO Archives of Surgery
YR 2003
FD November 1
VO 138
IS 11
SP 1264
OP 1266
DO 10.1001/archsurg.138.11.1264
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.138.11.1264
AB 
There has been a great deal written about morbid obesity, a plague on this country. Most of these articles have dealt with the technical aspect of the surgical treatment of morbid obesity and the indications for operation. Obviously the wave of the future is in the pharmacological management of these patients. The following report introduces us to this topic. Cummings DE, Weigle DS, Frayo S, et al. Plasma Ghrelin Levels After Diet-Induced Weight Loss or Gastric Bypass SurgeryN Engl J Med. 2002;346:1623-1630. Ghrelin is a hormone that increases food intake in humans. Because ghrelin is produced primarily by the stomach, weight loss after gastric bypass surgery is associated with a marked suppression of ghrelin levels and an absence of its normal diurnal rhythm. A diet-induced weight loss of 17% of initial body weight in a nonoperative patient group caused sharp rises in ghrelin profiles. Thus, the hypothesis that this hormone has a role in the long-term regulation of body weight has been established, and the search begins for antagonists that eventually may be the treatment of obesity.