Dieting and weight loss do not affect on the platelet serotonin 5-HT2A receptor.

Alterations related to the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor have been reported in various psychiatric disorders, and the 5-HT2A receptor is also one of the receptors mediating the effects of serotonin on feeding and satiety. The present study was carried out in order to investigate the association between the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor and weight loss during dieting in overweight subjects. In nine women studied before, during and after a 6-month period of dieting, body weight loss was not found to affect the platelet 5-HT2A receptor status. This finding implies that although body weight decrease is a common feature in many psychiatric disorders, the reported alterations in serotonin 5-HT2A receptor status in these disorders do not seem to be caused by the weight loss per se.