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Alterations in Brain Activity Linked to Bulimia
Researchers have found that women with a history
of bulimia show key differences in their brain's regulation of a hormone
that controls mood and appetite, possibly suggesting an inherent susceptibility
to the eating disorder.
"These alterations may make some women vulnerable for developing an eating disorder," lead
author Dr. Walter H. Kaye, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
in Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health.
Kaye's team studied nine women who have recovered from bulimia for at least one
year. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder in which patients alternate between
binge eating and purging. They suffer from a distorted body image and, often,
mood disturbances such as depression.
All the women were scanned using positron emission tomography, or a (PET) scan,
to gather images of brain activity. These were compared with brain scans from
12 women who had never had an eating disorder.
The researchers found that the bulimic patients' brains showed a reduction in
the ability of the chemical serotonin to bind to receptors in certain brain regions.
They also found that these women did not show the normal decline in serotonin
binding that comes with aging.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate appetite, mood and impulse
control. The findings are published in the July issue of the American Journal
of Psychiatry.
"I suspect this finding suggests that there is a dysregulation of the serotonin
system, which contributes to extremes of impulse control--undereating as well
as overeating--both of which are often found in bulimia," Kaye said.
He and his colleagues suspect the brain alterations were not a result of the
bulimia, but a possible cause.
"While this finding could be a consequence of having bulimia, there is other
data that suggests that certain traits, such as anxiety, may occur in childhood
in people who later develop bulimia," Kaye said. "Serotonin alterations could
contribute to such traits."
Previous research, he noted, has also found some evidence that bulimia has a
genetic component.
SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry 2001;158:1152-1155. |
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