8) Oxytocin (and related) Research Literature (updated Jan 31, 2020)

Oxytocin is primarily known as the hormone responsible for uterine contractions during labor, milk let down, and orgasm. Very few endocrinologists are aware of oxytocin's effects on appetite and social motivation or in using oxytocin as a replacement hormone for people with panhypopituitarism. This may largely be due to the fact that there is almost no research (as of this writing in 2016) on its use with people with panhypopituitarism. Naomi Cook has acted as a pioneer in her experimental use of oxytocin with her cranio daughter.  She published her case report in a recent edition of the Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism: Parent observed neuro-behavioral and pro-social improvements with oxytocin following surgical resection of craniopharyngioma

Naomi's paper is the first of its kind and I am hopeful that the nascent awareness of oxytocin's effectiveness in arenas other than those pertaining to reproduction and birth will spark the interest of endocrinologists.  Basic research (on animal models and humans) has shown oxytocin's appetite regulatory effects and research in the PWS and autism communities have shown some benefit as well in the reduction of anxiety and in the improvement of social interactions.  In my last year of reading the research literature on oxytocin, I have collected a few articles that may be of interest to those of you who are considering oxytocin replacement or who are medical professionals who are considering its use for your patients.  Please see this non-exhaustive list of articles I have selected for your reading. Due to time constraints and the priority of this blog's subject, please note that most of my time and energy goes to updating the research articles pertaining to the categories "A" and "B".

Read the Hope for HO case report published to the JCEM in February, 2018 and see here for the articles which have cited the case report to date.

A) Oxytocin and energy/metabolism/obesity:
1.  Contributions of central and peripheral oxytocin actions to energy balance
2.  Role of oxytocin in energy metabolism
3.  Treatment of obesity and diabetes using oxytocin or analogs in patients and mouse models
4. Oxytocin reduces reward-driven food intake in humans
5.  Role of oxytocin signaling in the reduction of body weight
6.  Chronic oxytocin reduces body weight, inhibits food intake in monkeys
7.  Peripheral oxytocin activates vagal afferent neurons to suppress feeding in normal and leptin-resistant mice: a route for ameliorating hyperphagia and obesity
8.  Oxytocin as feeding inhibitor: Maintaining homeostasis in consummatory behavior
9.  Oxytocin as a novel treatment for diabetes and obesity
10. Oxytocin’s inhibitory effect on food intake is stronger in obese than normal-weight men
11. Chronic oxytocin administration as a treatment against impaired leptin signaling or leptin resistance in obesity
12. Reduced circulating oxytocin and High-Molecular-Weight adiponectin are risk factors for metabolic syndrome
13. Deconstructing a neural circuit for hunger
14.  Peripheral oxytocin suppresses food intake and reduces obesity in rats
15. Leptin activates oxytocin which mediates weight loss
16. Oxytocin deficiency and implications for the Food-Addiction Construct
17. Serum Irisin and oxytocin levels predict metabolic parameters in children
18. The roles of oxytocin in stress, energy metabolism and social behavior
19. Oxytocin and potential benefits for obesity treatment
20. Central oxytocin and food intake- focus on macronutrient-driven reward
21. Leptin activates oxytocin neurons of the PVN in control and obese rodents
22. Mechanisms of the anti-obesity effects of oxytocin in diet-induced obese rats
23. Pharmacotherapy of obesity: available medications and drugs under investigation
24 The anorexigenic neural pathways of oxytocin and their clinical implication
25. Oxytocin curbs caloric intake via food specific increases in the activity of brain areas that process reward and establish cognitive control
26. Oxytocin participates on the effects of vasoactive intestinal peptide on food intake and plasma parameters
27.  Caffeine inhibits hypothalamic A1R to excite oxytocin neuron to ameliorate dietary obesity in mice
28.  Oxytocin improves Beta cell responsivity and glucose tolerance in healthy men
29.  Oxytocin modifies metabolic changes and artherosclerosis in rat model of diet induced obesity
30.  Effects of intranasal oxytocin on the blood oxygenation level-dependent signal in food motivation and cognitive control in overweight and obese men
31. Oxytocin- the sweet hormone?
32. Central oxytocin and energy balance; more than feelings
33. Intranasal oxytocin reduces weight gain in diet-induced obese prairie voles
34. Oxytocin differently affects sucrose seeking and taking between male and female rats
35. Effects of chronic oxytocin administration and diet composition on oxytocin and vasopressin 1a receptor binding in the rat brain
36. The anorexigenic neural pathways of oxytocin and their clinical implications
37. The relationship between oxytocin, dietary intake and feeding: a systematic study and meta-analysis study of mice and rats
38. Oxytocin in metabolic homeostasis: implications for obesity and diabetes management
39. Oxytocin reduces the functional connectivity between brain regions of eating behavior in men with overweight and obesity
40. Variable oxytocin levels in humans with different degrees of obesity and impact of gastric bypass surgery
41. Circulating oxytocin is genetically determined and associated with obesity and impaired glucose tolerance
42. Oxytocin and vasopressin systems in obesity and metabolic health
43. Oxytocin treatment reduced food intake and body fat and ameliorated obesity in ovariectomized female rats
44. Oxytocin administration alleviates acute but not chronic leptin resistance of diet-induced obese mice
45. Sex differences and estrous influences on oxytocin control of food intake
46. The metabolic effects of oxytocin (RECOMMENDED REVIEW ARTICLE)
47. Is weight status associated with peripheral levels of oxytocin? A pilot study in healthy women
48. Oxytocin regulates body composition (including body fat)
49. The OXTR polymorphism stratified the correlation of oxytocin and glucose homeostasis in non-diabetic subjects
50. The role of oxytocin in regulation of appetitive behaviour, body weight and glucose homeostasis (RECOMMENDED REVIEW ARTICLE)
51. Relay of peripheral oxytocin to central oxytocin neurons via vagal afferents for regulating feeding
52. Intranasal oxytocin fails to acutely improve glucose metabolism in obese men
53. Associations of oxytocin with metabolic parameters in obese women of childbearing age
54. New metabolic influencer on oxytocin release: the ghrelin
55. Effect of oxytocin on hunger discrimination
56. OR20-2 Oxytocin significantly attenuates the functional connectivity between food motivation brain areas in overweight and obese men exposed to high caloric food images
57. Appetite regulation: hormones, peptides, and neurotransmitters and their role in obesity

B) Hypothalamic Obesity- Craniopharyngioma Treatment:
1.  Pathophysiology of hypothalamic obesity and treatment recommendations: Review article (RECOMMENDED REVIEW ARTICLE)
2. Hypothalamic Obesity 4- year retrospective study from the HO Registry
3.  Interventions for the treatment of craniopharyngioma-related hypothalamic obesity- a systematic review (RECOMMENDED REVIEW ARTICLE)
4. Hypothalamic obesity treatment demands thinking outside the box (letter to the editor to Obesity)
5. Adamantinomatous Craniopharyngioma: genomics, radiologic findings, clinical, and prognosis
6. Management of endocrine disease in childhood-onset craniopharyngioma review
7. Hypothalamic Obesity- Prologue and Promise (RECOMMENDED REVIEW ARTICLE)
8. Eating behaviour and oxytocin in patients with childhood‐onset craniopharyngioma and different grades of hypothalamic involvement
9. Oxytocin in survivors of craniopharyngioma

C) Oxytocin and bone density:

1. Oxytocin treats diabetes and osteoporosis
2. Oxytocin controls bone and fat mass
3. Oxytocin and the loss of fat and the gain of bone
4. Oxytocin and its relationship to body composition, bone mineral density, and hip geometry across the weight spectrum
5. Oxytocin regulates body composition (including bone mass)

D) Oxytocin and PWS:
1. Current and emerging therapies for managing hyperphagia and obesity in Prader‐Willi syndrome: a narrative review
2.  Genetic obesity syndromes
3. PWS and Williams Syndrome
4. PWS and compulsive behaviors
5. Oxytocin improves many problem areas in children with PWS
6. The potential of oxytocin for the treatment of hyperphagia in PWS
7. Is intranasal oxytocin effective in improving disruptive behaviors in individuals with PWS?
8. Obsessive-compulsive features in PWS

E) Oxytocin and autism/social behavior/motivation:
1. Oxytocin and social motivation
2. Oxytocin, vasopressin and social behavior
3. Oxytocin plasma levels in autistic children

4. Oxytocin and prosocial effects and clinical evidence for its therapeutic potential
5.  Oxytocin and social support suppress cortisol and subjective stress
6.  Oxytocin enhances emotional empathy across cultures
7.  Oxytocin and neurocognitive domains in patients with hypopituitarism
8. Loss of Maged1 results in obesity, deficits of social interactions, impaired sexual behavior and severe alteration of mature oxytocin production in the hypothalamus
9. The multifarious oxytocin
10. Behavioral effects of multiple-dose oxytocin treatment in autism: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial with long-term follow-up

F) Oxytocin and anxiety/compulsive/psychopathological behaviors:
1. Diabetes insipidus and obsessional neuroses case examples:
2.  Oxytocin reduces repetitive behaviors in adults with autism
3.  Intranasal oxytocin improves Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
4.  Oxytocin in obsessive compulsive behavior
5.  Oxytocin reduces stress and anxiety behavior in rats
6.  Oxytocin receptor knockout prairie voles generated by CRISPR/Cas9 editing show reduced preference for social novelty and exaggerated repetitive behaviors
7. Hypothalamic AgRP neurons drive stereotypic (compulsive) behaviors beyond feeding
8. Intranasal oxytocin attenuates ACTH stress response in monkeys
9. Stress increases oxytocin release with the hypothalamic PVN
10.  Low oxytocin levels and psychopathology in men with hypopituitarism with diabetes insipidus

G) Miscellaneous Oxytocin:
1.  Oxytocin and social bonding

2. The evolution of oxytocin in human behavior

3.  Review of safety, side effects, and subjective reactions to oxytocin in human research
4.  Translating basic science of oxytocin to pharmacotherapy
5. Non-social function of hypothalamic oxytocin
6.  Oxytocin therapy and hypopituitarism
7. Chronic oxytocin administration as a tool for investigation and treatment: A cross-disciplinary systematic review

H) Opiate antagonists and impact on hedonic-reward eating:
1. Naltrexone/Buproprion for weight loss
2. Naltrexone for the treatment of obesity: review and update
3. Opposing neural effects of naltrexone on food reward and aversion: implications for the treatment of obesity
4.  Review on opioid connection to food intake
5.  Opioid antagonists reduce sugar intake
6.  Naltrexone puts "brakes on the drive to eat"
7. Animal studies suggest drugs for addiction may also treat overeatting
8. Neurobiology of food addiction
9.  Neurobiological underpinnings of obesity and binge eating (food addiction model)
10. Opioid receptors enhance hedonic eating

Please continue to check back here as I update this list periodically  as I find relevant papers.