The anorexia of aging syndrome in humans is characterized by spontaneous body weight loss reflecting diminished food intake. We reported previously that old rats undergoing a similar phenomenon of progressive weight loss (i.e., senescent rats) also display altered feeding behavior, including reduced meal size and duration. Here, we tested the hypothesis that blunted responsiveness to neuropepti...

OBJECTIVES Recent data indicate that alterations in brain neuropeptides may play a pathogenic role in dementia. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), somastostatin (SOM), and corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) are neuropeptides involved in cognitive performance. Decreased SOM and NPY concentrations have been found in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus and are probably the result of neuronal dysfunct...

Cell culture studies demonstrate an increase in cardiac L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L) density on sympathetic innervation in vitro and suggest the effect depends on neurally released neuropeptide Y (NPY). To determine if a similar mechanism contributes to the postnatal increase in ICa,L in vivo, we prepared isolated ventricular myocytes from neonatal and adult mice with targeted deletion of the NP...

Activation of hepatic nerves increases both hepatic glucose production (HGP) and hepatic arterial vasoconstriction, the latter best described by a decrease of hepatic arterial conductance (HAC). Because activation of canine hepatic nerves releases the neuropeptides galanin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) as well as the classical neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE), we sought to determine the relative...

Neuropeptide Y is implicated in the regulation of feeding in vertebrates, but recent studies in transgenic mice are contradictory. In this issue of Neuron, Wu et al. show a dual role for the Drosophila NPY (dNPF) in the developmental regulation of larval foraging and social behaviors, demonstrating a conserved role for this peptide in complex behaviors.

Stress affects eating behaviour in rodents and humans, suggesting that the regulation of energy balance and the stress response are coupled physiological processes. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein (AgRP) are potent food-stimulating neuropeptides that are highly co-localised in arcuate nucleus neurons of the hypothalamus. Recent studies have shown that NPY and AgRP mRNA levels in...

Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a neuropeptide highly conserved throughout evolution, is present at high levels in the central nervous system (CNS), as well as in peripheral tissues such as the gut and cardiovascular system. The peptide exerts its effects via multiple receptor subtypes, all belonging to the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily. Of these subtypes, the Y1 and the Y2 are the most thorough...

There are now six recognized neuropeptide Y (NPY) receptor subtypes (Y1-Y4 and two recently cloned distinct receptors labeled Y5), of which Y1 and one of the Y5's have been suggested could mediate the effect of NPY on feeding. The fragments NPY(2-36) and NPY(3-36), which bind Y1 only poorly, were injected intracerebroventricularly (icv) and found to have similar dose-response relationships to N...

Recently, it has been suggested that people’s chronotype is involved in regulating food intake and obesity. This study aimed to investigate the association between chronotypes with hormones related to appetite in adults in Tehran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 353 men and women aged 18-60 years using convenience sampling in Tehran municipality community centers. Informati...

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an orexigenic neuropeptide that plays a role in regulating adiposity by promoting energy storage in white adipose tissue and inhibiting brown adipose tissue activation in mammals. This review describes mechanisms underlying NPY's effects on adipose tissue energy metabolism, with an emphasis on cellular proliferation, adipogenesis, lipid deposition, and lipolysis in white...