Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus is a small area deep in the brain that helps control hunger, thirst, body temperature and many hormones. It receives signals from the gut and blood about how much energy the body has. GLP-1 medicines act partly here, according to animal studies.
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The hypothalamus integrates peripheral hormonal signals with appetite and energy-balance circuits. In mice, fluorescently labelled liraglutide bound neurons in the arcuate nucleus, and the authors concluded that GLP-1 receptors on POMC/CART neurons there likely mediate liraglutide-induced weight loss; GLP-1 receptor-expressing cells are also found in the paraventricular and ventromedial hypothalamus. These findings are from animal experiments.
Sources (2)
- 01The arcuate nucleus mediates GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide-dependent weight lossJournal of Clinical Investigation (indexed in PubMed, NCBI/NLM) · 2014-10 · accessed 2026-09-29
- 02Identification and characterization of GLP-1 receptor-expressing cells using a new transgenic mouse modelDiabetes (indexed in PubMed, NCBI/NLM) · 2014-04 · accessed 2026-09-29