Hypothalamic knife cut obesity in hyper or hypothyroid rats.

Recent evidence indicates that the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) contains both neurons that produce thyrotropic releasing hormone (TRH) and neurons that are destroyed or disconnected by the knife cuts that produce hypothalamic hyperphagia and obesity. This, and other evidence, suggested linkage between thyroid regulation and appetite control. As predicted, hyperthyroidism potentiated and hypothyroidism tempered the weight gains of knife cut rats. However, these effects were due entirely to increased and decreased, respectively, linear growth, not to differences in the degree of obesity. Enhanced linear growth and elevated growth hormone levels are a minor component of the enhanced weight gain of hypothalamically knife cut rats. Most of the weight gain is due to fat deposition. Only the enhanced linear growth and growth hormone aspect appear to possibly be mediated via the thyroid. In addition, obesifying knife cuts did not reduce goiterogenesis in PTU treated rats, as would be expected if the elaboration of TRH were blocked by obesifying knife cuts. Thus, neither TRH nor thyroxine is involved in the etiology of hypothalamic obesity.