The role of gastrointestinal peptides in the pathogenesis and treatment of obesity

Sa？etak Obesity is one of the biggest health-economic and social problems of today and its increasing incidence is aassociated with an increasing incidence and morbiditiy of a number of other diseases, primarily diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and malignant diseases as well. The central nervous system, that is the brain-gut axis has the central role in maintaining the balance of input and energy consumption, which is regulated by a variety of gastrointestinal peptide hormones. The role and action of these peptides is highly variable and depends on a number of factors, especially the type and the amount of food, energy status of the organism, and the accompanying diseases and metabolic disorders. They are closely connected with the pancreatic endocrine function, insuline secretion and regulation of glycaemia, which also shows a clear link between obesity and diabetes. A great progress in the development and appication of new antidiabetics in the class of peptide hormones or incretins, and their additional weight-loss properties have opened a whole new field of the pharmacotherapy researches in the treatment of obesity. The promising results are provided by the new drug combinations, which leads to new possibilities of pharmacotherapy as an alternative to the surgical treatment of obesity