ArticleJournal of the Endocrine Society2023
A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial of Intranasal Oxytocin to Promote Weight Loss in Individuals With Hypothalamic Obesity.
Article in Journal of the Endocrine Society, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02849743 (Intranasal Oxytocin to Promote Weight Loss in Children, Adolescents, and Adults With Brain Tumors and Hypothalamic Obesity Syndrome), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
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.
Intranasal Oxytocin to Promote Weight Loss in Children, Adolescents, and Adults With Brain Tumors and Hypothalamic Obesity Syndrome
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Efficacy of Pharmacotherapy Intervention on Anthropometric Outcomes in Survivors of Childhood Brain Tumors: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of oxytocin administration on non-social executive functions in humans: a preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- The oxytocin system in patients with craniopharyngioma: A systematic review.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Arginine-Vasopressin Dynamics in Relation to Food Intake and 8-Week Intranasal Oxytocin Treatment in Adults With Obesity.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Trial
- Oxytocin levels in response to CRH administration in hypopituitarism and hypothalamic damage: a randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Intranasal Oxytocin for Obesity.NEJM evidence · 2024Trial
- Hypothalamic obesity in pediatric vs. adult craniopharyngioma: mechanisms, management, and cardiometabolic outcomes.Pituitary · 2026Review
- Review
- Oxytocin Attenuates Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease via AMPK/SREBP1c/FAS-mediated Suppression of Hepatic Lipogenesis.Journal of clinical and translational hepatology · 2026Article
- Case Report: Effect of setmelanotide treatment in a young patient with acquired hypothalamic obesity followingFrontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Hunger, satiety, and eating behavior after craniopharyngioma - narrative review on current management and future therapeutic perspectives.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- The Central Control of Energy Metabolism: Hypothalamic Obesity Is Not One Disease.Hormone research in paediatrics · 2026Review
- Endocrine and metabolic consequences of childhood-onset craniopharyngioma during the transition age: A literature review by the TALENT study group.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2025Review
- Oxytocin: a neglected hormone in pituitary disease - From function to the diagnosis of a deficiency, resulting clinical relevance, and potential treatment options in endocrinology.Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Review
- Management of Acquired Hypothalamic Dysfunction and the Hypothalamic Syndrome; It Is More Than Obesity.Endocrine reviews · 2025Review
- The Oxytocin System and Implications for Oxytocin Deficiency in Hypothalamic-Pituitary Disease.Endocrine reviews · 2025Review
- Complexity of the Hypothalamic Oxytocin System and its Involvement in Brain Functions and Diseases.Neuroscience bulletin · 2025Review
- Hippocampus Oxytocin Signaling Promotes Prosocial Eating in Rats.Biological psychiatry · 2025Article
- Periodic dietary restriction of animal products induces metabolic reprogramming in humans with effects on cardiometabolic health.npj metabolic health and disease · 2025Article
- Obesity in patients with craniopharyngioma in the South Asian region - A distinct phenotype.Obesity pillars · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Context: Hypothalamic obesity is a rare, treatment-resistant form of obesity. In preliminary studies, the hypothalamic hormone oxytocin (OXT) has shown promise as a potential weight loss therapy. Objective: To determine whether 8 weeks of intranasal OXT (vs 8 weeks of placebo) promotes weight loss in children, adolescents, and young adults with hypothalamic obesity. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot trial (NCT02849743), conducted at an outpatient academic medical center, included patients aged 10 to 35 years with hypothalamic obesity from hypothalamic/pituitary tumors. Participants received intranasal OXT (Syntocinon, 40 USP units/mL, 4 IU/spray) vs excipient-matched placebo, 16 to 24 IU 3 times daily at mealtimes. Weight loss attributable to OXT vs placebo and safety (adverse events) were assessed. Results: Of 13 individuals randomized (54% female, 31% pre-pubertal, median age 15.3 years, IQR 13.3-20.6), 10 completed the entire study. We observed a nonsignificant within-subject weight change of -0.6 kg (95% CI: -2.7, 1.5) attributable to OXT vs placebo. A subset (2/18 screened, 5/13 randomized) had prolonged QTc interval on electrocardiography prior to screening and/or in both treatment conditions. Overall, OXT was well-tolerated, and adverse events (epistaxis and nasal irritation, headache, nausea/vomiting, and changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and QTc interval) were similar between OXT and placebo. In exploratory analyses, benefits of OXT for anxiety and impulsivity were observed. Conclusion: In this pilot study in hypothalamic obesity, we did not detect a significant impact of intranasal OXT on body weight. OXT was well-tolerated, so future larger studies could examine different dosing, combination therapies, and potential psychosocial benefits.
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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.