title: Anorexia and hypothalamic degeneration.
abstract: Anorexia, meaning poor appetite, occurs in many human conditions, for example, anorexia nervosa, cachexia, and failure to thrive in infants. A key player in the regulation of appetite/food intake in general, as well as conditions of anorexia, is the hypothalamus, in particular, the AGRP/NPY and POMC/CART neurons in the arcuate nucleus. In this chapter, we review the hypothalamic aberrances seen in the anorectic anx/anx mouse. This mouse displays deviations in neuropeptidergic/-transmitter systems, including selective hypothalamic degeneration and inflammation that have been associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. In addition, we discuss data from other animal models, as well as clinical data relating hypothalamic inflammation/degeneration, neurogenesis, and mitochondrial dysfunction to conditions of disturbed regulation of food intake.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine & Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. ida.nilsson@ki.se
authors.forename: Ida A K
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lindfors
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schalling
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hökfelt
authors.forename: Jeanette E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Johansen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000855:Anorexia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007027:Hypothalamic Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000473:pathology*