At four time points during the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in rats, the fasting serum insulin, leptin, and plasma ghrelin were measured and the hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) content and mRNA expression were detected in the rats, which were divided into 4 groups: normal control (NC), DIO4W, DIO8W, and T2DM; the mRNA expression of OB-Rb, and GSH-R1a in the hypothalamus were also assayed. The gene discussed is NPY; the disease is diabetes mellitus.