GASTRO-ENDOCRINOLOGY: A NEW AREA OR A NEW APPROACH TO KNOW DISEASE? 

Minerva Endocrinologica 2011 December;36(4):281-93

Copyright © 2012 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Gastrointestinal regulation of food intake: do gut motility, enteric nerves and entero-hormones play together?

Cuomo R., D’Alessandro A., Andreozzi P., Vozzella L., Sarnelli G. ✉

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

The gastrointestinal system can be considered the gateway for food entry in our body. Rather than being a passive player, it is now clear that gut strongly influence the feeding behavior and contribute to maintain energy balance with different signals. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about the role of gastrointestinal tract in the control of food intake, by focusing on the interplay existing between the enteric nervous system and gastrointestinal hormones and their ability to modulate digestive motility and sensitivity. Also the latest advances about the contribution of gut microbiota and gastrointestinal taste receptors are described. From the reported data it clearly emerges that gut hormones together with nervous signals likely contribute to the regulation of energy balance and modulate food intake through the control of digestive motility and sensations. The close linkage among gastrointestinal hormones, the gut and the central nervous systems appears very intriguing and has induced the development of a new field of research: the gastroendocrinology.