Genetic studies reveal the metabolic origins of anorexia

a global study led by researchers at King's College London and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that anorexia nerve is at least partly a metabolic disorder, rather than what was previously thought to be pure psychosis. The study was published today in the journal Nature Genetics.
The massive genome-wide joint study, conducted by more than 100 academics around the world, found eight genetic variants associated with anorexia nerve. The results show that the genetic origin of the disease is metabolic and spiritual.
Anorexia is a serious and potentially life-threatening disease. Symptoms of anorexia can include dangerously low body weight, a strong fear of weight gain, and distorted body image. Anorexia neurological disorder affects 1-2% of women and 0.2-0.4% of men, with the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
The researchers combined data collected by the Ernaesy Anorexia Genetics Initiative with data collected by the Mental Genomics Federation's Eating Disorders Working Group. The results data set included 16,992 cases of anorexia errobsiveness and 55,525 controls from 17 countries in North America, Europe and Australia.
Key findings of the study: 1. The genetic basis of anorexia errogen is consistent with metabolic (including blood sugar), lipids (fat) and anthometric (body check-up) characteristics, and studies have shown that this is not related to the genetic effects that affect body mass index (BMI).
2. The genetic basis of anorexia orexia coincides with other mental illnesses, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
3. Genetic factors associated with anorexia also affect physical activity, which may explain the trend towards high activity in patients with anorexia erratives.
Dr Gerome Breen, from the National Institutes of Health's (NIHR) Maudsley Centre for Biomedical Research and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, who led the study, commented: "Metabolic abnormalities in people with anorexia erremia are often attributed to hunger, but our research shows that metabolic differences can also lead to disease development. In addition, our analysis suggests that metabolic factors, like the effects of pure psychosis, may play almost or only a powerful role.Professor Janet Treasure, of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, said: "Over time, there is uncertainty about the structure of anorexia erratives because it is a mixture of physical and mental characteristics. Our findings confirm this binaryity and suggest that integrating metabolic information may help clinicians develop better treatments for eating disorders.Professor Cynthia Brick, from the University of North Carolina, said: "Our findings strongly encourage us to focus on the role of metabolism to help understand why some patients with anorexia nerve drop to dangerously low weight even after re-eating in hospital. The
study concluded that anorexia erremia may need to be considered a mixed "metabolic mental disorder" and that it is important to consider metabolic and psychological risk factors when exploring new ways to treat this potentially fatal disease.
Andrew Radford, chief executive of eating disorder charity Beat, said: "This is a ground-breaking study that has significantly improved our understanding of the genetic origins of this serious disease. We strongly encourage researchers to review the results of this study and consider how it can help develop new treatments so that we can end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders. " (Compiled by this web)