We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
INTEGRA BIOSCIENCES AG

Download Mobile App




Brain Imaging Studies Reveal Neurobiology of Eating Disorders

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 30 Apr 2013
Print article
Current treatments for bulimia nervosa and anorexia are frequently inadequate and ineffective. Patients have a tendency to relapse, become chronically ill, and have a higher risk of dying.

“A major reason contributing to the difficulty in developing new treatments for these disorders is our limited understanding of how brain function may contribute to eating disorder symptoms,” said Walter H. Kaye, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Program at the University of California (UC), San Diego School of Medicine (USA).

Recently, Dr. Kaye and colleagues reported the situation is changing. Cutting-edge brain imaging technologies, specifically functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (Bethesda, MD, USA), are beginning to be used to study and improve eating disorder treatments. With funding from the Global Foundation for Eating Disorders (GFED; New York, NY, USA), a group that promotes eating disorder (ED) research and improved treatments, the UC San Diego Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research has launched a new initiative to create more effective ED therapies based upon brain imaging studies.

“Brain imaging research has allowed for a shift from simply describing a symptom to understanding the cause of a symptom,” said Dr. Kaye. “In the case of anorexia nervosa, imaging studies have helped us understand why people avoid eating and food and develop treatments that address the cause of the problem rather than secondary behaviors or symptoms. This is an important shift in the world of psychiatry similar to what revolutionized medical care decades ago. Today, if you show up at the doctor’s office with a bad cough, he or she might run diagnostics to determine whether the cough was bacterial or viral in order to administer the appropriate treatment. Similarly, the more we understand the specific causes of eating disorders, the more effective, and targeted our treatments can become.”

The UC San Diego program, under the directorship of Dr. Kaye, Kerri Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry, Leslie Karwoski Anderson, PhD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and GFED scholars Stephanie Knatz and June Liang, is developing an imaging-based treatment strategy exclusively to handle the neurobiology of anorexia nervosa, in which patients obsess about being or becoming overweight. To prevent weight gain or lose weight, people with anorexia nervosa typical may starve themselves or exercise excessively.

Dr. Kaye reported that one neurobiologic target of anorexia and other eating disorders is anxiety. Most people get short-tempered when they do not eat and experience eating as both a reward and pleasant experience. Contrarily, anorexic individuals frequently feel severe anxiety when eating food, or even just anticipating eating, which results in severely reducing their food intake as a means of reducing their feelings of anxiety. “Recent imaging research has uncovered specific alterations in the brain associated with this link between food and anxiety in anorexic individuals,” said Dr. Kaye. “This finding is important because it helps explain the of cause food restriction, the most critical and dangerous behavior in anorexia.”

The UC San Diego researchers have used the new data to create new treatment strategies, including psychoeducation, i.e., teaching patients why symptoms occur and how to more effectively cope. “Many patients have described finally feeling a wave of relief after learning that the anxiety they experience is not their fault, but partly due to how their brain is responding to food,” stated Dr. Kaye. “Understanding why their eating disorder is driving them to restrict allows them to better target their anxiety around meals. Strategies such as developing routines before meals have shown promise in reducing the anticipatory anxiety leading up to meals and food restriction.”

Dr. Kaye noted that the brain-based therapy also benefits families of patients with eating disorders. “Through a better understanding of their family member’s eating disorder and its causes, family members have found comfort and hope with a ‘road map’ guiding them through the recovery.”

Related Links:
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine

Platinum Member
COVID-19 Rapid Test
OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
HLX
POCT Fluorescent Immunoassay Analyzer
FIA Go
Gold Member
ADAMTS-13 Protease Activity Test
ATS-13 Activity Assay

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: Reaching speeds up to 6,000 RPM, this centrifuge forms the basis for a new type of inexpensive, POC biomedical test (Photo courtesy of Duke University)

POC Biomedical Test Spins Water Droplet Using Sound Waves for Cancer Detection

Exosomes, tiny cellular bioparticles carrying a specific set of proteins, lipids, and genetic materials, play a crucial role in cell communication and hold promise for non-invasive diagnostics.... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: MOF materials efficiently enrich cfDNA and cfRNA in blood through simple operational process (Photo courtesy of Science China Press)

Blood Circulating Nucleic Acid Enrichment Technique Enables Non-Invasive Liver Cancer Diagnosis

The ability to diagnose diseases early can significantly enhance the effectiveness of clinical treatments and improve survival rates. One promising approach for non-invasive early diagnosis is the use... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The low-cost portable device rapidly identifies chemotherapy patients at risk of sepsis (Photo courtesy of 52North Health)

POC Finger-Prick Blood Test Determines Risk of Neutropenic Sepsis in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Neutropenia, a decrease in neutrophils (a type of white blood cell crucial for fighting infections), is a frequent side effect of certain cancer treatments. This condition elevates the risk of infections,... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The OvaCis Rapid Test discriminates benign from malignant epithelial ovarian cysts (Photo courtesy of INEX)

Intra-Operative POC Device Distinguishes Between Benign and Malignant Ovarian Cysts within 15 Minutes

Ovarian cysts represent a significant health issue for women globally, with up to 10% experiencing this condition at some point in their lives. These cysts form when fluid collects within a thin membrane... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.