Endocrine effects of anorexia nervosa.

A key feature of anorexia nervosa, a disease primarily psychiatric in origin, is chronic starvation, which results in profound neuroendocrine dysregulation, including hypogonadism, relative growth hormone resistance, and hypercortisolemia. A recent area of investigation is appetite hormone dysregulation. Whether such dysregulation is compensatory or plays a role in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa is incompletely understood. The primary therapy for anorexia remains psychiatric, and endocrine abnormalities tend to improve with weight restoration, although residual endocrine dysfunction can occur. In addition, therapies directed at specific complications have been a particular focus of research.