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Scientists from France have found that anorexia and the highly addictive club-drug, Ecstasy, activate some of the same brain pathways, a finding that may help explain the addictive nature of anorexia and other eating disorders and lead to new treatments.
Dr Valerie Compan, of Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Montpellier, and her colleagues say anorexia and Ecstasy reduce the drive to eat by stimulating the same subset of receptors for the neuro transmitter serotonin.
These so-called 5-HT4 receptors are located in a brain structure associated with feelings of reward. In mice, Compan and colleagues stimulated these receptors, which are known to play a role in addictive behaviour, and found that this led to anorexic-like behaviour - food-fed mice ate less and food-deprived mice showed a reduced drive to eat.
Stimulating these receptors in mice also boosted production of the same enzymes stimulated in response to amphetamine use.
Blocking the receptors increased food intake in the animals and mice missing these receptors were less sensitive to the appetite-suppressant effects of Ecstasy.
"Our data may converge to open the possibility that anorexia can be a reward-related problem involving neuronal mechanisms," Dr Compan said.
This research, she added, might have implications for the development of drug treatments. "Our studies give the possibility that the 5-HT4 receptor could be an important target to treat patients suffering from disorders."
- Reuters
