Effects of Exenatide on Obesity and/or Diabetes Mellitus Due to Hypothalamic Damage

Patients with hypothalamus lesion caused by tumors in the hypothalamic region, such as craniopharyngioma and germ cell tumors, and inflammatory diseases are susceptible to develop severe obesity and diabetes mellitus. The occurrence of hypothalamic obesity in patients after surgery with or without radiotherapy for craniopharyngioma can be as high as 42-66%, and the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus of them is twice as much as healthy controls. Treatment of obesity and diabetes mellitus in this population is crucial for increasing morbidity and mortality. However, diet and exercise intervention has been proven useless in previous studies. Safe and effective medicine remains to be developed. Exenatide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, which play an antihyperglycemic role through a variety of mechanisms, such as enhancing glucose-dependent insulin secretion, increasing beta cell mass and decreasing glucagon secretion, possesses a potent ability to induce satiety, slow gastric emptying and reduce food intake, resulting in weight loss both in diabetics and patients with simple obesity. Previous animal study has already shown GLP-1 agonist exendin-4 leads to reduction of weight and caloric intake in a rat model of hypothalamic obesity. Therefore, the investigators hypothesize exenatide treatment might lead to weight loss in hypothalamic obese patients and improve their glycemic control.