Ghrelin is a peptide hormone known for its role in the stimulation of appetite and feeding behavior, energy homeostasis, and carbohydrate metabolism. Ghrelin’s orexigenic (appetite-stimulating) effects get mediated via metabolic need-driven homeostatic feeding as well as central actions on reward, memory, and motivated feeding behavior. Having only been recently discovered in 1999, ghrelin’s many putative functions have sparked interest in a variety of clinical applications. This brief review focuses on the significant effects of ghrelin.
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