Heat makes a difference in activity-based anorexia: A translational approach to treatment development in anorexia nervosa

Abstract

Objective: To test the effect of raising ambient temperature (AT) on activity-based anorexia (ABA) and to extend to female rats previous findings reported in male animals. Method: Two studies are reported in which female rats were submitted to food restriction and free access to an activity wheel either separately or in combination under changing (21-32°C) or constant AT (21°C). Results: Warming ABA animals reversed running activity, preserved food-intake, and enabled female rats to recover from acute weight loss. Moreover, sedentary food-restricted warmed rats maintained a body weight equivalent to the levels of animals housed at standard AT in spite of 20% reduced food-intake. Discussion: The replication on female rats corroborates the effect previously reported for males, which is indicative of the robust effect of AT in recovering rats from ABA. The findings reported here represent strong preclinical evidence in favor of heat supply as a useful adjunctive component for the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.