Hypothalamic tumour presenting as anorexia nervosa.

The term anorexia nervosa is used to describe a condition of food refusal in pursuit of thinness, often accompanied by self-induced vomiting and purgative abuse. Patients are typically very active and have a disturbed body image. Usually it is seen in pre -pubertal or pubertal girls. However, Bruch I describes atypical anorexia nervosa, which can occur in either sex, usually later in puberty. These patients recognise that they are thin and are more often depressed than hyperactive. This paper describes a patient whose initial clinical presentation resembled that of anorexia nervosa with some atypical features, but he was eventually found to have a hypothalamic tumour.