Off-label treatment of a 15-year-old female patient with anorexia nervosa (AN) with human recombinant leptin (metreleptin) for nine days was associated with self-reported increments of appetite and hunger resulting in rapid weight gain and substantial improvement of eating disorder cognitions and of depression. The results further substantiate the effects of metreleptin on both AN and depression. We contrast these results with the widespread view that leptin is an anorexigenic hormone. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm the described effects.
Keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Antidepressant; Hunger; Leptin; Starvation.
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.