Indomethacin blocks the anorexic action of interleukin-1

It has been reported recently that the central nervous system actions of interleukin-1 are mediated by the prostaglandin system in the brain. The present study was therefore performed in order to examine the hypothesis that indomethacin, an inhibitor of prostaglandin biosynthesis, might alleviate the interleukin-1-induced suppression of food intake in rats. The i.p. injection of interleukin-1 (2 micrograms/rat) resulted in a significant decrease in food intake. The pre-injection of indomethacin (0.5 mg/rat), however, completely blocked the anorexic action of the monokine, while indomethacin on its own did not affect food intake. These results suggested that indomethacin might be clinically useful for improvement of the anorexic state of patients with acute infectious diseases.