Basal and meal-stimulated ghrelin, PYY, CCK levels and satiety in lean women with polycystic ovary syndrome: effect of low-dose oral contraceptive

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Ghrelin in this observational study publication.

The researchers aimed to determine whether fasting or meal-stimulated ghrelin, PYY, CCK, and satiety responses are different between lean PCOS patients and healthy women.

The researchers also aimed to assess the potential effect of oral contraceptive use on these hormones and satiety response.

Why It Was Studied

Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide that stimulates food intake, whereas peptide YY (PYY) and cholecystokinin (CCK) are anorexigenic gut hormones.

Patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) appear to have alterations in appetite regulation.

Who Took Part

The study group was 18 women.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were teenagers, young adults and adults, women only.

Eighteen lean PCOS patients and 18 healthy control women matched for age and body mass index underwent measurements of circulating ghrelin, PYY, CCK, and satiety index (SI) before and after a standardized mixed meal at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 180 minutes.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers conducted a prospective observational study in a university practice.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Androstenes, Basal Metabolism, Cholecystokinin, Contraceptives, Oral, Eating, Estrogens and Ethinyl Estradiol.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is an observational study of Ghrelin in 18 women.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Its findings take up roughly 6 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2013 (The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Ghrelin compound page, all human trials.