Altered Serotonin Activity in Anorexia

Abstract

To avoid the confounding influences of malnutrition or weight loss, we studied patients with anorexia nervosa at normal weight and stable dietary intake. Compared with 15 controls, 17 long-term weight-restored anorectic subjects had elevated con- centrations of cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, the major serotonin metabolite, whereas levels of cerebrospinal fluid homovanillic acid, the major dopamine metabolite, were normal. Elevated levels of cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindole- acetic acid may indicate increased serotonin activity. Such activ- ity could contribute to pathological feeding behavior. Most im- portantly, this study raises the question as to whether increased cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels are associ- ated with overly inhibited, anxious, or obsessive traits. (Arch