ArticleNeuropharmacology2019
Intravenous administration of ghrelin increases serum cortisol and aldosterone concentrations in heavy-drinking alcohol-dependent individuals: Results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled human laboratory study.
Article in Neuropharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic results from a randomized controlled study with the growth hormone secretagogue receptor blocker PF-5190457 in recently abstinent patients with alcohol use disorder.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- Mifepristone as a pharmacological intervention for stress-induced alcohol craving: A human laboratory study.Addiction biology · 2023Trial
- Effect of intravenous ghrelin administration, combined with alcohol, on circulating metabolome in heavy drinking individuals with alcohol use disorder.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2021Trial
- Neuroendocrine Response to Exogenous Ghrelin Administration, Combined With Alcohol, in Heavy-Drinking Individuals: Findings From a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Human Laboratory Study.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2021Trial
- Evidence for independent actions of the CRF and ghrelin systems in binge-like alcohol drinking in mice.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2025Article
- An Emerging Role for Gut-Brain Signaling Involving Ghrelin in Chronic Stress.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Role of aldosterone and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in addiction: A scoping review.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2023Article
- Involvement of the ghrelin system in the maintenance and reinstatement of cocaine-motivated behaviors: a role of adrenergic action at peripheral β1 receptors.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Article
- Ghrelin Represses Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Gene Expression through Activation of Glucocorticoid Receptor and Protein Kinase C Delta in Inflamed Skin Keratinocytes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Gray areas: Neuropeptide circuits linking the Edinger-Westphal and Dorsal Raphe nuclei in addiction.Neuropharmacology · 2021Review
- Advances in understanding addiction treatment and recovery.Science advances · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Increasing evidence supports the role of appetite-regulating hormones, including ghrelin, in alcohol use disorder (AUD). Effects of ghrelin administration on cortisol and aldosterone, two hormones known to influence the development and maintenance of AUD, have been observed in ghrelin-exposed tissues or cells, as well as rodents and healthy volunteers, however whether these effects replicate in individuals with AUD is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that intravenous administration of ghrelin leads to increase in endogenous serum cortisol and aldosterone concentrations in alcohol-dependent, heavy drinking individuals, and that these changes may predict ghrelin-induced alcohol craving. This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled human laboratory study in non-treatment-seeking, heavy-drinking, alcohol-dependent individuals randomized to receive either placebo, 1 mcg/kg or 3 mcg/kg of intravenous ghrelin. Then, participants underwent a cue-reactivity procedure in a bar-like setting, which included exposure to both neutral (juice) and alcohol cues. Repeated blood samples were collected and used to measure endogenous cortisol and aldosterone serum concentrations, in response to exogenous ghrelin administration. Furthermore, cortisol and aldosterone serum concentrations were used to develop a model to predict the effect of exogenous ghrelin administration on alcohol craving. Intravenous ghrelin administration increased endogenous cortisol and aldosterone serum concentrations. While the effects on cortisol were greater than those on aldosterone, only the ghrelin-induced changes in aldosterone serum concentrations predicted craving. These findings provide initial evidence of ghrelin effects on glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids in individuals with AUD, thereby providing additional information on the potential mechanisms by which the ghrelin system may play a role in alcohol craving and seeking in AUD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.