Hypothalamic obesity: comparison of radio-frequency and electrolytic lesions in weanling rats

Female rats were subjected to radio-frequency or anodal electrolytic lesions of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) when 28 days old. Blood samples for determination of basal plasma insulin and glucose levels were taken on postoperative day 30 (Experiment 1) and on day 10 (Experiment 2). Body weight and daily food intake of rats with either type of lesion did not differ from unoperated animals during the first 10 days, but rats with electrolytic lesions, unlike radio-frequency lesioned animals, displayed excess food intake and weight gain starting in the third postoperative week. Both types of lesions produced stunted linear growth and a higher than normal Lee Obesity Index. Only the rats with electrolytic VMH lesions were significantly hyperinsulinemic on postoperative day 30, with a mean plasma insulin level that was at least double that observed in unoperated or radio-frequency lesioned animals. On day 10, however, the animals with electrolytic lesions had markedly lower plasma insulin and glucose levels compared to the other two groups, which did not differ from one another. There was no apparent difference in the size of the lesions produced by the two techniques, and it is therefore concluded that some of the endocrine dysfunctions resulting from electrolytic VMH lesions are due to metallic ion deposits (stimulating adjacent tissue) rather than to tissue ablation.