Relationship of food and water intake in aurothioglucose obesity

¹ Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City

After ld₅₀ doses of aurothioglucose (ATG), extensive damage to hypothalamic structures other than those strictly involved in food intake has been demonstrated. The injury to areas previously shown to be concerned with the regulation of water intake prompted an investigation of the daily patterns of food and water intake in mice from the 2nd day after ATG injection for a period of 6 months. During the 1st month after ATG no statistically significant differences were noted in food or water intake or water-to-food ratios among mice destined to become obese, ATG-nonobese mice, or controls. From the 2nd to 6th month statistically significant increases in food and water intake were demonstrated among obese mice compared to ATG-nonobese and control mice. At no time after the injection of ATG was there a demonstrable difference in water-to-food ratios among the three groups. It is concluded that alteration of water intake regulatory mechanisms is not a concomitant of aurothioglucose obesity.