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Role of ventromedial hypothalamus on energy homeostasis in albino rats: effect of gender.

Various brain areas like the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) are known to influence food intake and body weight. Though obesity is more common in females, the reports on gender difference in the neural regulation of energy homeostasis are not adequate. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the gender difference in the effect of VMH lesion on food intake (FI), body weight (BW), serum lipid profile, thyroid profile, glucose and insulin levels and glucose-insulin ratio (GIR) in Wistar albino rats. Twenty-four Wistar albino rats were divided equally into control and experimental groups with 6 male and 6 female rats in each. In the experimental group, bilateral electrolytic lesion of VMH was performed by stereotaxy and post-lesion parameters were recorded. In the control group, VMH sham lesion was made. Male-female difference in each parameter was determined. Following VMH lesion, FI was increased (females, P < 0.01) and BW (males, P < 0.05) and GIR decreased in males (P < 0.001), which was significantly correlated with BW. T3 was more significantly correlated with FI and BW in females (P < 0.000 and P < 0.001). Following VMH lesion, male rats exhibited significant weight gain in the absence of proportionate hyperphagia indicating that weight-gain was mainly metabolic in nature. Also, the male rats developed more susceptibility to insulin resistance. The female rats developed resistance to weight-gain inspite of hyperphagia, which could be due to the higher T3 level.