Does gut hormone PYY3–36 decrease food intake in rodents?: Physiology

Arising from: R. L. Batterham et al . Nature 418 , 650–654 (2002); Batterham et al . reply Batterham et al . report that the gut peptide hormone PYY 3–36 decreases food intake and body-weight gain in rodents 1 , a discovery that has been heralded as potentially offering a new therapy for obesity. However, we have been unable to replicate their results. Although the reasons for this discrepancy remain undetermined, an effective anti-obesity drug ultimately must produce its effects across a range of situations. The fact that the findings of Batterham et al . 1 cannot easily be replicated calls into question the potential value of an anti-obesity approach that is based on administration of PYY 3–36 .