Faculty

Congenital and acquired damage to critical hypothalamic nuclei or neuronal circuits controlling satiety and energy expenditure can result in hypothalamic obesity (HO). Acquired HO is a debilitating condition arising from hypothalamic injury due to various factors such as hypothalamic brain tumors, surgery, trauma, inflammation, or radiation. HO has been relatively resistant to pharmacological therapies, with only a small number of patients showing a positive treatment response. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) offer a promising alternative approach to treating HO, as their mechanism of action to induce satiety involves targets outside of the damaged hypothalamus. Based on results from a non-systematic literature review, GLP-1RAs appear to be an encouraging option for HO treatment. This talk will discuss potential mechanisms for using GLP-1RAs as weight loss drugs in HO. Furthermore, it will summarize the currently available results from clinical trials, case series, and case reports using GLP-1RAs for the treatment of acquired HO.

Faculty

Christian Ludwig Roth, MD

Seattle Children's Rsrch Institute

Chair

Zeynep Madak Erdogan, Ph.D

UIUC