Endocrine Function Before and After Treatment in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

Abstract

In order to investigate changes in endocrine function, various tests were performed on eleven patients with anorexia nervosa. In two of them, endocrine function before and after treatment was also studied. The responses of plasma LH and FSH to LH-RH were decreased in the patients as were plasma LH-RH, and LH and FSH responses to the oral administration of clomiphene citrate. In more than half of the cases, plasma TSH showed a delayed response to TRH. The basal levels of plasma GH were elevated, and plasma GH responses to hypoglycemia or 1-arginine were lowered in half of the patients. Plasma GH showed a paradoxical rise after glucose load in three out of six cases. Plasma IRI responses to 1-arginine load were decreased in some cases, but plasma IRG responses to 1-arginine were rather excessive. Plasma IRI after glucose load showed low or delayed responses in most of the cases. After the body weight was increased to normal levels by the treatment, pituitary and pancreatic endocrine functions were normalized. These findings indicate that hypothalamic function is primarily impaired in this disease and causes nutritional disorder followed by the dysfunction of some endocrine organs. Such a possibility could be supported by the improvement of endocrine function after body weight has been recovered.

Distribution volume, metabolic clearance and plasma half disappearance time of exogenous luteinizing hormone releasing hormone in normal women and women with obesity and anorexia nervosa

“…High plasma levels of GH and cortisol and abnormal responses of these hormones in various loading tests have been observed in many patients with anorexia nervosa (Copinschi et al 1967;Nishimura et al 1979). In the present study, the DV and MCR of LRH were significantly less in cases of anorexia nervosa than in normal subjects, with a significant prolongation of the tlA.…”

“…As we previously reported, the release of some pituitary hormones in response to various stimuli is impaired in obese patients (Chikamori 1976), and elevation of the plasma growth hormone (GH) level and decrease in luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion are noted in many patients with anorexia nervosa (Nishimura et al 1979). These abnormalities in hormone secre¬ tion have been considered as secondary changes due to change in the body weight or dysfunction of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis.…”