Gut-CNS peptide hormones, digestive dysfunction, and colon cancer

Dietary modification as protection against coronary heart disease and diet-related cancers has been recommended, yet the central nervous system (CNS)-neuroendocrine control of eating behavior and digestion is poorly understood. Maintenance of nutritional homeostasis (and therefore of an ideal body weight) requires a balance between appetite and satiety that currently appears to be related to CNS-peptide hormones stimulating feeding counteracted by the release of gut satiety peptide hormones. This review stresses the importance of the composition of luminal nutrients on colonic motility and the release of peptide hormones; it also discusses the interaction of the CNS and environmental factors on colonic activity and the relationship to diet-related diseases.