Renjith Vijayakumar Selvarani on a Loss of Hunger Following a Stroke
Renjith Vijayakumar Selvarani, Founder, Chairman, Chief Scientific and Technology Officer at OLUSIUM, shared on LinkedIn:
”A stroke that robbed a young woman of her ability to feel hunger has unlocked new secrets about one of the brain’s most mysterious regions—the insula.
After suffering a stroke at age 28, the Canadian woman lost sensation in one side of her body and developed an odd metallic aftertaste when eating.
As weeks passed, she noticed she no longer felt hungry even during long periods without food.
This led to significant weight loss, as she often forgot to eat and had to schedule meals.
Doctors pinpointed damage to her insular cortex, a deep-brain region involved in interpreting internal bodily states.
Despite retaining her sense of taste and smell, eating brought her little pleasure she ate only half her usual amount, and even favored treats held no appeal.
The sensation of hunger finally returned after 15 months, revealing that the insula plays a key role in signaling hunger and pleasure from food.
This unique case, along with findings from patients who have the insula removed to treat epilepsy, reinforces its role in appetite control.
The research opens the door to targeted therapies for obesity and eating disorders, though care will be needed due to the insula’s involvement in other drives such as empathy and pain.
RESEARCH PAPER
Benjamin Hébert-Seropian et al, “Uncommon case of complete loss of hunger following an isolated left insular stroke”, Neurocase”
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