[ noun ] a gastrointestinal hormone that stimulates the secretion of pancreatic enzymes and the contraction and emptying of the gall bladder; its release is stimulated by the presence of fatty acids and amino acids in the small intestine <noun.body>
If cholecystokinin plays a role in spontaneous attacks, he said, it is not clear whether the attacks are produced by a surge of its natural levels or an abnormally high sensitivity to it.
Pekas, who works at the agency's meat animal research center in Clay Center, Neb., said the vaccine is made partly from a fragment of cholecystokinin, a natural appetite-limiting hormone made in the upper intestinal tract of pigs and humans.
The preliminary report found that some people with the disorder make unusually small amounts of cholecystokinin, a hormone produced by the intestines that makes people feel full, or sated, after a meal.