|
 |
||
      |
|
|
|
 Research & Giving News Article  It is difficult to obtain reliable statistics on their incidence because so many eating disorders go unreported. However, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), an estimated 0.5 to 3.7 percent of females suffer from anorexia nervosa in their lifetime; an estimated 1.1 percent to 4.2 percent of females suffer at some point during their lives from bulimia nervosa. Left untreated, anorexia can have a mortality rate as high as 20%; the most common causes of death are complications of the disorder, such as cardiac arrest or electrolyte imbalance, and suicide. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are notoriously resistant to treatment, and a better understanding of them is needed in order to develop more effective clinical approaches. NARSAD researchers are studying these conditions from a number of perspectives in the quest for new insights into eating disorders. In a paper recently published in CNS Spectrums, Young Investigator Guido K. Frank, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, discusses how emerging brain imaging techniques are being used to study short and long term changes in the brains of anorexia and bulimia patients. These new methods offer hope of identifying biological markers for these disorders that will, in turn, lead to more effective treatments for them. Dr. Frank points out that most brain studies of anorexia show gray and white matter alterations that at least partially improve with recovery. Functional imaging studies suggest other areas of disturbance (in the limbic, frontal, and parietal cortices), and demonstrate that changes in serotonin receptors exist during illness and persist after recovery. Bulimia patients’ serotonin receptors also show alterations after recovery, but Dr. Frank notes that very few studies have been done on this disorder. NARSAD Young Investigator Evelyn Attia, M.D., of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, seeks to understand why depression associated with Anorexia Nervosa is unresponsive to conventional treatments for depression. While treatment programs report modest success at medical stabilization and weight gain, patients with anorexia frequently exhibit symptoms of depression and anxiety, and relapse rates are extremely high. Dr. Attia seeks to shed light on this puzzle by expanding our understanding of serotonin activity in anorexia patients by studying a group of women at various points along their treatment – when they are first admitted, after they are stabilized, and when their weight has normalized. Tryptophan (TRP) is a serotonin precursor, and Dr. Attia will measure the women’s level of TRP depletion in order to predict their response to the antidepressant fluoxetine (marketed as Prozac). Another study that could yield compelling results is being conducted by NARSAD Young Investigator Diane Alix Klein, M.D., of Columbia University, who will look at anorexia patients who exercise excessively. Over-exercising compounds weight loss, promotes relapse, and leads to physical morbidity in itself. Many individuals with anorexia report that they use excessive exercise not to lose weight, but to improve their mood. Dr. Klein theorizes that the anorexia sufferers who exercise excessively may be using exercise as a form of self-medication, and will pursue her investigations by studying people being treated on an in-patient basis. Positive findings in this study could significantly impact future pharmacological treatment of anorexia, and might suggest new treatments for this often treatment-resistant disorder. |
Media Contact
Upcoming NARSAD Events
Latest News from NARSAD
Spotlight
|
|
For the Media