In this scenario, the well established inhibitory actions of SST on pancreatic function, particularly on insulin and glucagon secretion (Figure 1) as well as its inhibitory action on intestinal glucose absorption, predicted its use as a key tool to potentially regulate glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in diabetes and obesity (Hansen et al., 2004; Tzotzas et al., 2008). This evidence concerns the gene INS and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.