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Video encyclopedia

LEP

2:39

The genetic basis of obesity

13:44

Jeffrey Friedman (Rockefeller U./HHMI): The Causes of Obesity and the Discovery of Leptin

15:15

Leptin Function, Signaling via the LepR, & Overall Physiological Effects

6:49

How the Hormone Leptin Helps Regulate Appetite I NOVA I PBS

5:40

The Brain's Hunger/Satiety Pathways and Obesity, Animation

Leptin, "the hormone of energy expenditure", is a hormone predominantly made by adipose cells that helps to regulate energy balance by inhibiting hunger. Leptin is opposed by the actions of the hormone ghrelin, the "hunger hormone". Both hormones act on receptors in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. In obesity, a decreased sensitivity to leptin occurs, resulting in an inability to detect satiety despite high energy stores and high levels of leptin.