HWN Suggests

Somatostatin: Likely the most widely effective gastrointestinal hormone in the human body

SS exerts inhibitory effects on various organs. The broad array of SS actions includes regulation of neurotransmission, glandular secretion, smooth muscle contractility and cell proliferation. SS has been shown to inhibit virtually every known exocrine and endocrine secreted factor, including growth hormone, prolactin, thyrotropin, corticotropin, insulin, glucagon, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, pancreatic polypeptide, gastrin, cholecystokin, motilin, neurotensin, thyroxin (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), calcitonin, aldosterone, catecholamine and renin. It has also been shown to inhibit splanchnic blood flow and movement functions (i.e. smooth muscle contractility), such as contractility…

read full article

Featured

 Practical Tips for Patients on "The Shot" (Somatostatin Analog)

Many NET patients are on a somatostatin analog (SSA), also known as “the shot” in the patient community. The purpose of the shot is to stop the growth of the tumor or to manage symptoms of functional tumors.

 Somatostatin Health Benefits, Function & Side Effects

Somatostatin is a 14-amino acid peptide hormone that is in virtually every organ in the body. It acts as a hormone, a local regulator, and a neurotransmitter. Two scientists accidentally discovered it when they were dissecting the brain of a sheep. Somatostatin inhibits the release of hormones by binding to its five receptors (G-protein coupled receptors sst1 to sst5).

Articles of Interest

Pathway detail - flipper e nuvola

Somatostatin, also known as growth hormone-inhibiting hormone (GHIH) or by several other names, is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G protein-coupled somatostatin receptors and inhibition of the release of numerous secondary hormones. Somatostatin inhibits insulin and glucagon secretion.

Octreotide and Somatostatin in Undifferentiated UGIB

Until newer studies are published showing either harm or no clinical benefit, at this time the use of octreotide in non-variceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage appears to benefit bleeding and need for surgery (Especially in the sickest patients: Hemodynamically unstable, requiring transfusion, large volume hematemesis). Unfortunately, we just do not have mortality data to help guide this decision nor do we know the optimal length of time to continue the infusion.

Role of Somatostatin in the Regulation of Central and Peripheral Factors of Satiety and Obesity

Amongst the many peptides involved in the regulation of food-seeking behaviour, somatostatin (SST) is the one which plays a determinant role in the complex process of appetite. SST is involved in the regulation of release and secretion of other peptides, neuronal integrity, and hormonal regulation. Based on past and recent studies, SST might serve as a bridge between central and peripheral tissues with a significant impact on obesity-associated with food intake behaviour and energy expenditure.

Somatostatin Analogs in Clinical Practice: A Review

SSAs are an invaluable therapeutic option in the diagnosis and treatment of somatotropinomas, thyrotropinomas, and functioning and non-functioning gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. They should also be considered an effective and safe therapeutic alternative of corticotropinomas, gonadotropinomas, and prolactinomas resistant to dopamine agonists. Somatostatin analogs have also shown to be useful in the treatment of other endocrine diseases (congenital hyperinsulinism, Graves’ orbitopathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema), non-endocrine neoplasms (breast, colon, prostate, lung, and hepatocellular), and digestive diseases (chronic refractory diarrhea, hepatorenal polycystosis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, dumping syndrome, and intestinal fistula).

Versatile Functions of Somatostatin and Somatostatin Receptors in the Gastrointestinal System

Somatostatin (SST) and somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) play an important role in the brain and gastrointestinal (GI) system. SST is produced in various organs and cells, and the inhibitory function of somatostatin-containing cells is involved in a range of physiological functions and pathological modifications. The GI system is the largest endocrine organ for digestion and absorption, SST-endocrine cells and neurons in the GI system are a critical effecter to maintain homeostasis via SSTRs 1-5 and co-receptors, while SST-SSTRs are involved in chemo-sensory, mucus, and hormone secretion, motility, inflammation response, itch, and pain via the autocrine, paracrine, endocrine, and exoendocrine pathways.

Resources

BACHEM

Somatostatin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus and some other tissues such as the pancreas and the gastrointestinal tract. It is an inhibitor of growth hormone release from the anterior pituitary gland and suppresses the release of a variety of other hormones involved in the regulation of important physiological functions of the gastrointestinal tract. Somatostatin (SST) was isolated and characterized by researchers working in the laboratory of Guillemin at the Salk Institute in 1973.

Britannica

Somatostatin, polypeptide that inhibits the activity of certain pancreatic and gastrointestinal hormones. Somatostatin exists in two forms: one composed of 14 amino acids and a second composed of 28 amino acids. The name somatostatin, essentially meaning stagnation of a body, was coined when investigators found that an extract of hypothalamic tissues inhibited the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland. Somatostatin subsequently was found to be widely distributed throughout the central nervous system and to occur in other tissues.

StatPearls

Somatostatin is a cyclic peptide well known for its strong regulatory effects throughout the body. Also known by the name of growth hormone inhibiting hormone, it is produced in many locations, which include the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, pancreas, hypothalamus, and central nervous system (CNS).

TeachMePhysiology

Somatostatin (SS) is a polypeptide hormone with numerous inhibitory roles in the body. It was initially identified as a product of hypothalamic neurones but has been found to be produced in the GI tract, and exerts many of its key effects there. Due to its effect on growth hormone, it is also referred to as growth hormone inhibiting hormone.

You and Your Hormones

Somatostatin is a hormone that inhibits the secretion of several other hormones, including growth hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, cholecystokinin and insulin.