Dysfunction of Inflammatory Pathways and Their Relationship with Anti-Hypothalamic Autoantibodies in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa.

This study shows that the increased pro-inflammatory phenotype in patients affected by AN correlates with the concentration of autoantibody specific for hypothalamic antigens. Of interest, the pro-inflammatory state seems to be reduced with duration of AN. In addition, IL-21 could work as a stimulant of the immune response, thus possibly increasing the autoreactivity.