@article{3083808,
    title = "Cerebrospinal fluid ghrelin is negatively associated with body mass
index",
    author = "Tritos, NA and Kokkinos, A and Lampadariou, E and Alexiou, E and and Katsilambros, N and Maratos-Flier, E",
    journal = "JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM",
    year = "2003",
    volume = "88",
    number = "6",
    pages = "2943-2946",
    publisher = "ENDOCRINE SOC",
    issn = "0021-972X",
    doi = "10.1210/jc.2003-030300",
    abstract = "Ghrelin is a 28 amino acid peptide hormone, predominantly expressed in
the gastric epithelium and, at a lower level, in the hypothalamus.
Although several line of evidence indicate that ghrelin has a role in
appetite regulation, nevertheless the regulation and role of central
ghrelin levels remain unclear. To further characterize the role of
ghrelin in the regulation of body adiposity, we investigated the
association between fasting cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ghrelin levels and
body mass index (BMI) in humans. We consecutively enrolled 19 adults
(aged 21-76 yr, 15 females and 4 males), including 4 obese, 7 overweight
and 8 learn subjects, who underwent spinal anesthesia during surgery for
non-malignant conditions. We found a negative association between
fasting CSF ghrelin levels and BMI (r= -0.048, p=0.035) and a trend
towards lower (by 16%) fasting CSF ghrelin levels in the obese (=0.06
for the difference between learn and obese subjects). In conclusion, we
found a negative association between fasting CSF ghrelin levels and BMI
in humans. Our data suggest that central ghrelin may have a role in the
regulation of body adiposity in humans, which requires further study to
be fully elucidated."
}