ROLE OF INTERLEUKIN-6 AND TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA IN ANOREXIA-NERVOSA

Anorexia nervosa is a serious earing disorder characterized by extreme weight loss and abnormalities of the neuroendocrine and immune system s. To determine the potential role of rumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF -alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and transforming growth factor-beta (TG F-beta) in anorexia nervosa, serum concentrations of these cytokines w ere measured in patients with anorexia nervosa during starvation and a fter weight gain. Serum IL-6 and TGF-beta concentrations were both sig nificantly elevated during starvation and returned to levels comparabl e to those of normal-weight controls by the end of therapy. In contras t serum TNF-alpha levels were undetectable in all patients and control s. Cytokines may play previously unsuspected roles in anorexia nervosa and its complications.