HYPOTHALAMIC RESPONSE TO STARVATION - IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF WASTING DISORDERS

Weight loss is a potent stimulus to food intake in normal individuals. The persistence of anorexia in wasting disorders, therefore, implies a failure of this adaptive feeding response. We describe a model for t he normal hypothalamic response to starvation composed of the stimulat ion of neuronal pathways that promote energy intake and storage couple d with the inhibition of pathways that exert opposing effects. This mo del provides a framework for investigating disturbances of the normal hypothalamic response to weight loss and suggests a specific mechanism by which cytokines contribute to wasting in acquired immune deficienc y syndrome and other cachexic disorders.