Ghrelin in Type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome

The increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome and the consequent cardiovascular diseases, like atherosclerotic diseases and Type 2 diabetes has stimulated an active search for novel risk factors. The hormones regulating energy balance are of special interest as potential risk factors for metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes. Ghrelin is a peptide hormone from stomach with growth hormone releasing activity. It is also able to modify glucose and insulin metabolism, blood pressure levels, adipogenesis, and inflammatory processes in experimental conditions. Whether ghrelin has a role in the development metabolic syndrome and the associated diseases, is not known. This review will report the evidence for the role of ghrelin in the clustering of the components of the metabolic syndrome. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.