Low plasma cortisol in bulimia nervosa patients with reversed neurovegetative symptoms of depression.

Individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN) have a very high lifetime prevalence of major depression (Hatsukami et al 1984; Hudson et al 1987), an important consideration when interpreting biological studies in BN. Another potential issue is that many BN patients experience "reversed symptoms" such as hypersomnia and hyperphagia when depressed (Lam et al 1991); to date, there is a dearth of research on possible neuroendocrine changes associated with these "reversed" symptoms. We report here an unanticipated finding of a strong negative relationship between plasma cortisol levels and "reversed" symptoms of depression, in particular hypersomnia and carbohydrate craving, in a small sample of BN patients.