Responses to Epinephrine in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

Abstract

To examine the sensitivity to epinephrine in patients with anorexia nervosa, 20-60μg/kg body weight/min of epinephrine was infused for 30min each in 5 patients and 5 controls. The increase in pulse rate and the decrease in diastolic blood pressure were significantly smaller in the patient group. Elevated plasma GH levels in the patients were markedly suppressed by epinephrine infusion. These results indicate the β-adrenergic function is decreased at least in the cardiovascular system in patients with anorexia nervosa.