OBJECTIVETo observe changes of plasma peptide YY (PYY) in acupuncture for slimming.

METHODSThirty-four cases of simple obesity were treated with acupuncture for 3 courses. Body mass index (BMI), and fat percent (F%), and insulin, PYY, blood fat, and blood sugar levels before and after treatment were determined, with 20 normal persons used as controls.

RESULTSThe clinical total effective rate was 88.23%. Acupuncture could increase the decreased insulin sensitive index and PYY level (both P < 0.01), with no correlativity between them (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONRegulation of PYY is possibly one of the mechanisms of acupuncture in slimming, but the relation of PPY with insulin resistance remains to be studied.

Body Mass Index ; Humans ; Insulin ; blood ; Insulin Resistance ; Obesity ; therapy ; Peptide YY

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a contiguous gene syndrome characterized by uncontrollable eating or hyperphagia. Several studies have confirmed that plasma ghrelin levels are markedly elevated in PWS adults and children. The study of anorexigenic hormones is of interest because of their regulation of appetite by negative signals. To study the pattern and response of the anorexigenic hormones such as cholecystokinin (CCK) and peptide YY (PYY) to a meal in PWS, we measured the plasma CCK, PYY, ghrelin and serum insulin levels in PWS patients (n=4) and in controls (n=4) hourly for a day, and analyzed hormone levels and hormonal responses to meals. Repeated measures of ANOVA of hormone levels demonstrated that only insulin levels decreased (p=0.013) and CCK (p=0.005) and ghrelin (p=0.0007) increased in PWS over 24 hr. However, no significant group x time interactions (ghrelin: p=0.89, CCK: p=0.93, PYY: p=0.68 and insulin: p=0.85) were observed; in addition, there were no differences in an assessment of a three-hour area under the curve after breakfast. These results suggest that the response pattern of hormones to meals in PWS patients parallels that of normal controls. In addition, the decrease of insulin levels over 24 hr, in spite of obesity and elevated ghrelin levels, suggests that the baseline insulin level, not the insulin response to meals, may be abnormal in patients with PWS.
Adolescent ; Area Under Curve ; Biopsy ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Child ; Cholecystokinin/*blood ; Ghrelin ; Humans ; Insulin/*blood/metabolism ; Male ; Obesity ; Peptide Hormones/*blood/metabolism ; Peptide YY/*blood ; Prader-Willi Syndrome/*blood ; Time Factors