Animal Models: Anorexia Yes, Nervosa No

Abstract

In 1982 a case history appeared of a 13-year-old girl fulfilling the DSM-III criteria for anorexia nervosa (Weller and Weller 1982). The patient was obsessed about food and being fat; the diagnosis was confirmed by four psychiatrists. The unusual point about this case was that there was also a tumor infiltrating one side of the hypothalamus. This is probably the first case where characteristics of cachexia associated with a brain tumor closely resemble those common in anorexia nervosa. “It would seem probable”, the authors say, “that the tumor and the clinical syndrome were related.” This conclusion is highly debatable. First, there are thousands of cases of anorexia nervosa where no tumors have been found. The occasional combination of the two disorders may be a chance event. It is necessary to know the incidence of hypothalamic tumors and anorexia nervosa in the population before making valid conclusions. Second, although the anorexia abated after irradiation, CT scans showed no change in the lesions. Third, unilateral lesions would be unlikely to lead to severe weight loss. Unilateral lateral hypothalamic (LH) lesions, made deliberately in people in attempts to control obesity, failed to achieve this (Quaade et al. 1974).