Serotonin and Tryptophan Depletion in Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including restricting food, low body weight, and a fear of gaining weight. It also has the highest mortality rate of neuropsychiatric disorders, affecting approximately 4% of females and 0.3% of men. While the neural mechanisms of eating disorders are not as precise as for other psychiatric disorders, emerging approaches to better comprehend the neurobiology of eating disorders have focused on the identification of the differences relating to the presence and metabolism of both dopamine and serotonin. It’s suggested that those who are malnourished encounter a decrease in serotonergic tone, which is measured by a decrease in the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid, dulled plasma prolactin response to serotonin agonists, as well as a reduction in the binding of platelets imipramine and paroxetine. A theory is that the decrease in the influx of tryptophan leads to a reduction of central nervous serotonin, which then imitates the effects of the restriction of food within the brain’s serotonin system.