Plasma Peptide YY and Ghrelin Levels in Infants and Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome

An insatiable appetite is a cardinal feature of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) with stomach rupturing as a reported consequence. Peptide YY, secreted by the intestine and released post-prandially, inhibits appetite, while ghrelin, secreted by the stomach during mealtime hunger, stimulates appetite. Both peptide YY and ghrelin act at the brain level, particularly the hypothalamus. Recently, plasma ghrelin levels were reported to be elevated in children and adults with PWS but peptide YY levels have not been studied in this syndrome or ghrelin in infants with PWS. To further address the abnormal eating behavior in PWS, we obtained fasting plasma peptide YY and ghrelin levels in 12 infants and children with PWS ranging in age from 2.5 months to 13.3 years and compared them with values from normal populations reported in the literature. Plasma ghrelin levels in our patients with PWS were similar to those of other children with PWS and were significantly higher than those reported in obese children without PWS. Our infants with PWS had similar plasma ghrelin levels compared with our children with PWS but peptide YY levels in our children and infants with PWS were lower than reported in similarly aged individuals without PWS. In addition, we performed preliminary gene expression analysis of ghrelin and peptide YY and their receptors in patients with PWS using established lymphoblastoid cell lines but gene expression did not correlate with plasma ghrelin or peptide YY levels.