The Pharmacology of Human Appetite: From Leptin to GLP-1 to Drug Targets

This review maps the complete pharmacology of human appetite — from leptin and hypothalamic circuits to gut peptides (GLP-1, PYY, CCK, ghrelin) — identifying the most promising drug targets for obesity treatment.

Halford, Jason C G et al.·Current drug targets·2004·Moderate EvidenceReview
RPEP-00921ReviewModerate Evidence2004RETHINKTHC RESEARCH DATABASErethinkthc.com/research

Quick Facts

Study Type
Review
Evidence
Moderate Evidence
Sample
Not reported

What This Study Found

Human appetite is regulated by a multi-level system including adiposity signals (leptin, insulin), gut peptides (GLP-1, PYY, CCK, ghrelin), and hypothalamic neuropeptides (NPY, AgRP, POMC), with GLP-1 and PYY identified as the most druggable targets.

Key Numbers

How They Did This

review study examining glp-1 and neuropeptides.

Why This Research Matters

Advances understanding of glp-1, neuropeptides, weight-loss, receptor-signaling with translational implications.

The Bigger Picture

Contributes to the growing body of peptide research with implications for clinical development and therapeutic applications.

What This Study Doesn't Tell Us

Study-specific limitations apply; see abstract for details.

Questions This Raises

  • ?Further research needed to confirm and extend these findings.
  • ?Clinical translation and safety need evaluation.
  • ?Optimal dosing and delivery require characterization.

Trust & Context

Key Stat:
Key finding Human appetite is regulated by a multi-level system including adiposity signals (leptin, insulin), gut peptides (GLP-1, PYY, CCK, ghrelin), and hypoth
Evidence Grade:
moderate evidence from review study design.
Study Age:
Published in 2004.
Original Title:
The pharmacology of human appetite expression.
Published In:
Current drug targets, 5(3), 221-40 (2004)
Database ID:
RPEP-00921

Evidence Hierarchy

Meta-Analysis / Systematic Review
Randomized Controlled Trial
Cohort / Case-Control
Cross-Sectional / ObservationalSnapshot without intervening
This study
Case Report / Animal Study

Summarizes existing research on a topic.

What do these levels mean? →

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the main focus of this study?

The Pharmacology of Human Appetite: From Leptin to GLP-1 to Drug Targets

What was discovered?

This review maps the complete pharmacology of human appetite — from leptin and hypothalamic circuits to gut peptides (GLP-1, PYY, CCK, ghrelin) — identifying the most promising drug targets for obesity treatment.

Read More on RethinkPeptides

Cite This Study

RPEP-00921·https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/RPEP-00921

APA

Halford, Jason C G; Cooper, Gillian D; Dovey, Terence M. (2004). The pharmacology of human appetite expression.. Current drug targets, 5(3), 221-40.

MLA

Halford, Jason C G, et al. "The pharmacology of human appetite expression.." Current drug targets, 2004.

RethinkPeptides

RethinkPeptides Research Database. "The pharmacology of human appetite expression." RPEP-00921. Retrieved from https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/halford-2004-the-pharmacology-of-human

Access the Original Study

Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkPeptides research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.