No effects of acute tryptophan depletion on anxiety or mood in weight-recovered female patients with anorexia nervosa.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Previous studies have suggested that individuals recovered from anorexia nervosa (AN) are characterized by increased serotonergic (5-HT) activity that might be related to elevated levels of anxiety. Assuming these traits to be also present in individuals at risk for AN, it was further hypothesized that restricting food intake might be a means to temporarily alleviate dysphoric affective states by reducing central nervous availability of tryptophan (TRP), the sole precursor of 5-HT. One study that supported this hypothesis found anxiolytic effects in individuals with a history of AN during an experimentally induced short-term depletion of TRP supply to the brain.

Methods

In this placebo-controlled, double-blind cross-over study, 22 patients weight-recovered from AN

SUBMITTER: Weinert T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9957824 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature