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Science 2 April 2004:
Vol. 304. no. 5667, pp. 63 - 64
DOI: 10.1126/science.1096746
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Perspectives

NEUROSCIENCE:
The Fat-Brain Axis Enters a New Dimension

Joel K. Elmquist and Jeffrey S. Flier

Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells that reduces food intake in humans and rodents by regulating the activity of neurons in the hypothalamus, including those in the arcuate nucleus. In their Perspective, Elmquist and Flier discuss exciting new research (Pinto et al.; Bouret et al.) showing that leptin directly affects the activity and synaptic input of arcuate neurons and also stimulates their growth during development.

The authors are in the Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. E-mail: jflier{at}bidmc.harvard.edu

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Cord Blood Leptin and Adiponectin as Predictors of Adiposity in Children at 3 Years of Age: A Prospective Cohort Study.
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Association of Adiposity Status and Changes in Early to Mid-Adulthood With Incidence of Alzheimer's Disease.
M. A. Beydoun, A. Lhotsky, Y. Wang, G. D. Forno, Y. An, E. J. Metter, L. Ferrucci, R. O'Brien, and A. B. Zonderman (2008)
Am. J. Epidemiol. 168, 1179-1189
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Programmed Alterations in Hypothalamic Neuronal Orexigenic Responses to Ghrelin Following Gestational Nutrient Restriction.
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Reproductive Sciences 15, 702-709
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Leptin inhibits swallowing in rats.
B. Felix, A. Jean, and C. Roman (2006)
Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol 291, R657-R663
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Neonatal Leptin Treatment Reverses Developmental Programming.
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Endocrinology 146, 4211-4216
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Early origins of obesity: programming the appetite regulatory system.
I. C. McMillen, C. L. Adam, and B. S. Muhlhausler (2005)
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Common Structural Basis for Constitutive Activity of the Ghrelin Receptor Family.
B. Holst, N. D. Holliday, A. Bach, C. E. Elling, H. M. Cox, and T. W. Schwartz (2004)
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