Mood and orthostatic norepinephrine response in anorexia nervosa.

The relationship between mood and noradrenergic activity, measured by orthostatic norepinephrine response (delta NE), was investigated in 24 patients with anorexia nervosa during inpatient treatment. Mood and delta NE correlated significantly at four out of five measurement points. Group comparisons identified significantly worse mood in patients with pathologically low delta NE values. Thus, biological consequences of altered eating behavior may also affect such psychological symptoms as depressed mood.