Hormones Influence Obesity And Anorexia Nervosa.

2001 JUL 26 - (NewsRx Network) -- Three studies examined the causes of obesity and the effects of anorexia nervosa on the human body.

The studies were presented at a press conference at ENDO 2001, the 83rd annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, held in Denver, Colorado, June 20-23, 2001. All three studies looked at the role of hormones in two conditions that are from opposite ends of the weight-control spectrum.

The first study shed light on the effects that anorexia nervosa, a disorder involving self-imposed caloric restriction, has on a woman's body. In the study, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital examined the relationship between low testosterone levels, due to abnormal ovarian function, and bone density in young women with anorexia nervosa. Blood testosterone levels and bone density were measured in 89 women with anorexia nervosa and 30 healthy women with comparable age and regular menstrual periods.

Researchers discovered that testosterone levels are significantly lower in women with anorexia compared with the healthy women. In addition, the low testosterone levels directly correlated with low bone density at many of the skeletal sites.

"Through our research, we now understand that low levels of testosterone may contribute to low bone density in women with anorexia nervosa," said Dr. Karen Miller, an endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Two other studies involved new research into the causes of and possible treatments for obesity. One study, which was conducted in the United Kingdom, examined the relationship between stored fat and two different hormones. The study involved the isolation of fat cells that were taken from patients having elective abdominal surgery. Researchers grew the fat cells in a way that promoted the accumulation of stored fat. They then treated the cells with two factors that were ...