Ghrelin and the Regulation of Food Intake and Energy Balance

The orexigenic and somatotrophic effect of peripheral ghrelin mediated by the afferent vagal nerve . Circulating ghrelin acts on the stimulation of feeding and secretion of GH through the gastric vagal afferent nerves, and through the surgical deafferentation of them blocked GH secretion and food intake induced by peripheral administration of ghrelin. Although ghrelin is also produced by hypothalamic cells, it is unclear whether this source of ghrelin acts in a similar fashion to ghrelin produced by the stomach.