Lauren A. Stone, Elia S. Harmatz, Ki A.

Goosens,
Ghrelin as a Stress Hormone: Implications for Psychiatric Illness,
Biological Psychiatry,
Volume 88, Issue 7,
2020,
Pages 531-540,
ISSN 0006-3223,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.05.013.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322320316176)
Abstract: The stress response is an adaptive means of maintaining physiological
homeostasis in the face of changing environmental conditions. However, protracted
recruitment of stress systems can precipitate wear and tear on the body and may
lead to many forms of disease. The mechanisms underlying the connection between
chronic stress and disease are not fully understood and are likely multifactorial.
In this review, we evaluate the possibility that the hormone ghrelin may contribute
to the pathophysiology that follows chronic stress. Since ghrelin was discovered as
a pro-hunger hormone, many additional roles for it have been identified, including
in learning, memory, reward, and stress. We describe the beneficial effects that
ghrelin exerts in healthy mammals and discuss that prolonged exposure to ghrelin
has been linked to maladaptive responses and behaviors in the realm of psychiatric
disease. In addition, we consider whether chronic stress–associated altered ghrelin
signaling may enhance susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder and comorbid
conditions such as major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder. Finally, we
explore the possibility that ghrelin-based therapeutics could eventually form the
basis of a treatment strategy for illnesses that are linked to chronic stress and
potentially also ghrelin dysregulation, and we identify critical avenues for future
research in this regard.
Keywords: Disease risk; Ghrelin; Human; Metabolism; Resistance; Stress