Could leptin be the answer?

With special thanks to the Anxiety, Addiction and Depression Treatments blog for their excellent introduction and overview, I want to point you to "The role of leptin in anorexia nervosa: clinical implications."

By jove, perhaps they've got it! Could this be what causes - what explains - anorexia nervosa? This is really big stuff - not only an interesting and elegant model, but immediately useful information. How often does that happen?

The entire paper is available online at the link above, so go get it from the source, or read the excellent overview at the AADT blog above.

Among the highlights:
  • "It is likely that the discovery of leptin and its functions will turn out to be the major endocrinological finding in AN to explain symptoms related to semi-starvation."
  • "determination of leptin levels in patients with acute AN should thus become part of the routine clinical evaluation at referral"
  • Why refeeding seems to make things worse for a while, derailing recovery.
  • Why it takes up to a year for the system to recover, inviting relapse.

I look forward to reader feedback on this one - read, discuss!

Comments

  1. Thanks for posting this, Laura. I printed it out and am looking forward to having a quiet moment to read and digest it (so to speak).

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  2. Wow. This makes such sense. Why aren't more people doing sort of research?

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