All issues > Volume 48(2); 2005

Medical Lecture Course

Korean J Pediatr. 2005;48(2):126-137. Published online February 15, 2005.

Recent Advances in Regulating Energy Homeostasis and Obesity

Mi Jung MJ Park¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Mi Jung MJ Park ,Email: PMJ@sanggyepaik.ac.kr

Abstract

New insights in the complex metabolic pathways and its control mechanism for energy homeostasis have refined our understanding of the pathophysiology of obesity. It is now recognized that there are several additional regulatory mechanism such as peripheral signals including leptin, ghrelin, GLP-1 and PYY and cellular signals including uncoupling proteins and β Adrenergic receptors, which contribute to the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure, respectively. In addition, the function of adipocyte as an endocrine organ in energy homeostasis has been recently emphasized. Recent findings suggest that elevated levels of adipokines, such as leptin, adiponectin, resistin and TNF-α, in addition to increased free fatty acid level could be related to the pathophysiology of insulin resistance in obesity. For effective treatments and prevention of obesity, further studies on the circuits of neural and endocrine interactions in the regulation of energy homeostasis are needed.

Keywords :Energy homeostasis , Adipocyte , Adipokines , Obesity