Response to neuropeptide Y: Biomarker and intervention for surgical recovery

We would like to submit the following response to the authors on the commentary submitted: Neuropeptide Y: biomarker and intervention for surgical recovery. The authors thank Zhao et al. for their interest in our review of neuropeptide Y as a pharmacological target for psychiatric disease and for their commentary entitled “Neuropeptide Y: biomarker and intervention for surgical recovery”. As noted by Zhao et al., a large body of evidence supports neuropeptide Y as a biomarker of psychological resilience. Levels of neuropeptide Y are higher in psychologically resilient individuals and can predict stress coping. Given that surgery is highly stressful event and a psychological component has been shown to mediate recovery, we agree that the measurement of NPY prior to surgical procedures may be a useful predictor of recovery outcomes and has the potential to direct individualized care. Future research studies on the utilization of a presurgical neuropeptide Y-based screening assay and interventions to raise neuropeptide Y as a prehabilitation strategy are certainly warranted.