Gut-derived hormones, such as GLP-1, have been proposed to relay information to the brain to regulate appetite. GLP-1 receptor agonists, currently used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), improve glycemic control and stimulate satiety, leading to decreases in food intake and body weight. We hypothesized that food intake reduction after GLP-1 receptor activation is mediated through appetite-and reward-related brain areas. Obese T2DM patients and normoglycemic obese and lean individuals (n = 48) were studied in a randomized, crossover, placebocontrolled trial. Using functional MRI, we determined the acute effects of intravenous administration of the GLP-1 receptor agonist exenatide, with or without prior GLP-1 receptor blockade using exendin 9-39, on brain responses to food pictures during a somatostatin pancreatic-pituitary clamp. Obese T2DM patients and normoglycemic obese versus lean subjects showed increased brain responses to food pictures in appetite-and reward-related brain regions (insula and amygdala). Exenatide versus placebo decreased food intake and food-related brain responses in T2DM patients and obese subjects (in insula, amygdala, putamen, and orbitofrontal cortex). These effects were largely blocked by prior GLP-1 receptor blockade using exendin 9-39. Our findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which GLP-1 regulates food intake and how GLP-1 receptor agonists cause weight loss.The global rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) prevalence is a major public health problem (1,2). It has been hypothesized that excessive eating due to changes in central nervous system (CNS) satiety and reward responses to food underlies the development of obesity and T2DM, comparable to the role for altered CNS responses in drug addiction (3). Several studies in obese individuals have demonstrated increased CNS responses to visual food cues in areas involved in appetite and reward processing (insula, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex [OFC], and striatum) (4-6), and this increased CNS food-cue responsiveness predicts future weight gain (7). The mechanisms underlying these alterations in CNS responses to food cues are not clear, but multiple metabolic and hormonal factors seem to be involved (8-10).Food ingestion activates the secretion of several gutderived mediators, including the incretin hormone GLP-1. GLP-1 stimulates meal-related insulin secretion, inhibits glucagon release, and delays gastric emptying, mechanisms that all contribute to its glucometabolic effects (11). In addition, several observations suggest that GLP-1 has a role in the regulation of food intake. Systemic administration of GLP-1 reduced food intake in rodent and human studies (12), and blocking the GLP-1 receptor with

The delivery of nutrients to the gastrointestinal tract after food ingestion activates the secretion of several gut-derived mediators, including the incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), such as exenatide and liraglutide, are currently employed successfully in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. GLP-1RA improve glycaemic control and stimulate satiety, leading to reductions in food intake and body weight. Besides gastric distension and peripheral vagal nerve activation, GLP-1RA induce satiety by influencing brain regions involved in the regulation of feeding, and several routes of action have been proposed. This review summarises the evidence for a physiological role of GLP-1 in the central regulation of feeding behaviour and the different routes of action involved. Also, we provide an overview of presently available data on pharmacological stimulation of GLP-1 pathways leading to alterations in CNS activity, reductions in food intake and weight loss.

Our findings show that GLP-1 receptor activation decreases anticipatory food reward, which may reduce cravings for food and increases consummatory food reward, which may prevent overeating.

Aims/hypothesisThe central nervous system (CNS) is a major player in the regulation of food intake. The gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) has been proposed to have an important role in this regulation by relaying information about nutritional status to the CNS. We hypothesised that endogenous GLP-1 has effects on CNS reward and satiety circuits.MethodsThis was a randomised, crossover, placebo-controlled intervention study, performed in a university medical centre in the Netherlands. We included patients with type 2 diabetes and healthy lean control subjects. Individuals were eligible if they were 40–65 years. Inclusion criteria for the healthy lean individuals included a BMI <25 kg/m2 and normoglycaemia. Inclusion criteria for the patients with type 2 diabetes included BMI >26 kg/m2, HbA1c levels between 42 and 69 mmol/mol (6.0–8.5%) and treatment for diabetes with only oral glucose-lowering agents. We assessed CNS activation, defined as blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal, in response to food pictures in obese patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 20) and healthy lean individuals (n = 20) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI was performed in the fasted state and after meal intake on two occasions, once during infusion of the GLP-1 receptor antagonist exendin 9-39, which was administered to block actions of endogenous GLP-1, and on the other occasion during saline (placebo) infusion. Participants were blinded for the type of infusion. The order of infusion was determined by block randomisation. The primary outcome was the difference in BOLD signal, i.e. in CNS activation, in predefined regions in the CNS in response to viewing food pictures.ResultsAll patients were included in the analyses. Patients with type 2 diabetes showed increased CNS activation in CNS areas involved in the regulation of feeding (insula, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex) in response to food pictures compared with lean individuals (p ≤ 0.04). Meal intake reduced activation in the insula in response to food pictures in both groups (p ≤ 0.05), but this was more pronounced in patients with type 2 diabetes. Blocking actions of endogenous GLP-1 significantly prevented meal-induced reductions in bilateral insula activation in response to food pictures in patients with type 2 diabetes (p ≤ 0.03).Conclusions/interpretationOur findings support the hypothesis that endogenous GLP-1 is involved in postprandial satiating effects in the CNS of obese patients with type 2 diabetes.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT 01363609Funding The study was funded in part by a grant from Novo Nordisk.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by obesity, hyperglycemia and insulin resistance. Both T2DM and obesity are associated with cerebral complications, including an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, however the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. In the current study, we aimed to determine the relative contributions of obesity and the presence of T2DM to altered white matter structure. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to measure white matter integrity and volume in obese T2DM patients without micro- or macrovascular complications, age- gender- and BMI-matched normoglycemic obese subjects and age- and gender-matched normoglycemic lean subjects. We found that obese T2DM patients compared with lean subjects had lower axial diffusivity (in the right corticospinal tract, right inferior fronto-occipital tract, right superior longitudinal fasciculus and right forceps major) and reduced white matter volume (in the right inferior parietal lobe and the left external capsule region). In normoglycemic obese compared with lean subjects axial diffusivity as well as white matter volume tended to be reduced, whereas there were no significant differences between normoglycemic obese subjects and T2DM patients. Decreased white matter integrity and volume were univariately related to higher age, being male, higher BMI, HbA1C and fasting glucose and insulin levels. However, multivariate analyses demonstrated that only BMI was independently related to white matter integrity, and age, gender and BMI to white matter volume loss. Our data indicate that obese T2DM patients have reduced white matter integrity and volume, but that this is largely explained by BMI, rather than T2DM per se.

OBJECTIVEGlucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are associated with reduced appetite and body weight. We investigated whether these effects could be mediated by the central nervous system (CNS). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSWe performed a randomized crossover study in obese patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 20, mean age 59.3 6 4.1 years, mean BMI 32 6 4.7 kg/m 2 ), consisting of two periods of 12-week treatment with either liraglutide 1.8 mg or insulin glargine. Using functional MRI, we determined the effects of treatment on CNS responses to viewing food pictures in the fasted condition and 30 min after meal intake. RESULTSAfter 12 weeks, the decrease in HbA 1c was larger with liraglutide versus insulin glargine (D20.7% vs. 20.2%, P < 0.001). Body weight decreased during liraglutide versus insulin glargine (D23.3 kg vs. 0.8 kg, P < 0.001). After 10 days, patients treated with liraglutide, compared with insulin glargine, showed decreased responses to food pictures in insula and putamen (P £ 0.02). In addition, liraglutide enhanced the satiating effect of meal intake on responses in putamen and amygdala (P £ 0.05). Differences between liraglutide and insulin glargine were not observed after 12 weeks. CONCLUSIONSCompared with insulin, liraglutide decreased CNS activation significantly only after short-term treatment, suggesting that these effects of GLP-1RA on the CNS may contribute to the induction of weight loss, but not necessarily to its maintenance, in view of the absence of an effect of liraglutide on CNS activation in response to food pictures after longer-term treatment.Obesity and diabetes constitute a major health burden due to their pandemic occurrence (1) and their association with adverse consequences, such as cardiovascular disease (2). Obesity is the result of a long-term excess energy intake relative to expenditure, leading to increased weight and body fat mass. The central nervous system (CNS) has a major role in the regulation of food intake and the maintenance

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP1) affects appetite, supposedly mediated via the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we investigate whether modulation of CNS responses to palatable food consumption may be a mechanism by which GLP1 contributes to the central regulation of feeding. Using functional MRI, we determined the effects of endogenous GLP1 and treatment with the GLP1 analogue liraglutide on CNS activation to chocolate milk receipt. Study 1 included 20 healthy lean individuals and 20 obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Scans were performed on two occasions: during infusion of the GLP1 receptor antagonist exendin 9 -39 (blocking actions of endogenous GLP1) and during placebo infusion. Study 2 was a randomised, cross-over intervention study carried out in 20 T2DM patients, comparing treatment with liraglutide to insulin, after 10 days and 12 weeks. Compared with lean individuals, T2DM patients showed reduced activation to chocolate milk in right insula (P = 0.04). In lean individuals, blockade of endogenous GLP1 effects inhibited activation in bilateral insula (P ≤ 0.03). Treatment in T2DM with liraglutide, vs insulin, increased activation to chocolate milk in right insula and caudate nucleus after 10 days (P ≤ 0.03); however, these effects ceased to be significant after 12 weeks. Our findings in healthy lean individuals indicate that endogenous GLP1 is involved in the central regulation of feeding by affecting central responsiveness to palatable food consumption. In obese T2DM, treatment with liraglutide may improve the observed deficit in responsiveness to palatable food, which may contribute to the induction of weight loss observed during treatment. However, no long-term effects of liraglutide were observed. 1-12Effect of GLP1 on CNS response to palatable food j s ten kulve and others

OBJECTIVEIt has been suggested that weight reduction and improvements in satiety after Rouxen-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) are partly mediated via postoperative neuroendocrine changes. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a gut hormone secreted after food ingestion and is associated with appetite and weight reduction, mediated via effects on the central nervous system (CNS). Secretion of GLP-1 is greatly enhanced after RYGB. We hypothesized that postoperative elevated GLP-1 levels contribute to the improved satiety regulation after RYGB via effects on the CNS. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSEffects of the GLP-1 receptor antagonist exendin 9-39 (Ex9-39) and placebo were assessed in 10 women before and after RYGB. We used functional MRI to investigate CNS activation in response to visual food cues (pictures) and gustatory food cues (consumption of chocolate milk), comparing results with Ex9-39 versus placebo before and after RYGB. RESULTSAfter RYGB, CNS activation was reduced in the rolandic operculum and caudate nucleus in response to viewing food pictures (P = 0.03) and in the insula in response to consumption of palatable food (P = 0.003). GLP-1 levels were significantly elevated postoperatively (P < 0.001). After RYGB, GLP-1 receptor blockade resulted in a larger increase in activation in the caudate nucleus in response to food pictures (P = 0.02) and in the insula in response to palatable food consumption (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONSWe conclude that the effects of RYGB on CNS activation in response to visual and gustatory food cues may be mediated by central effects of GLP-1. Our findings provide further insights into the mechanisms underlying the weight-lowering effects of RYGB.Bariatric surgery is currently the most effective therapeutic modality for severe obesity in terms of substantial weight loss and long-term efficacy (1). The most commonly performed procedure is Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB), which comprises the formation of a small gastric pouch, which is connected to the midjejunum, bypassing the duodenum and proximal jejunum. This may lead to reduced ingestive capacity and