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| Bulimia & Anorexia |
| If you think you have an eating disorder you must contact Over Eaters Anonymous at www.oa.org they will help you. Stop your suffering NOW! Reach Out and help yourself it is the only way for you to stop the progression of these diseases. |
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| Research indicates chemical could be risk factor for bulimia |
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Substance may identify those at risk |
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Study followed recovering bulimics |
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Genetics to blame? |
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| People who suffer from bulimia may be born with a brain chemistry imbalance that leaves them prone to eating disorders, according to a new study. |
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| The findings could help identify people at risk for bulimia so that intervention could start before the cycle of bingeing and purging, said Dr. Walter Kaye, the author of the study and a professor of psychiatry at the Western Psychiatric Institute in Pittsburgh. |
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| The study, released Wednesday, was published in the October issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. |
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| Researchers already know that the brains of bulimics contain altered levels of serotonin, a chemical that affects mood and contributes to obsessive behaviors. Drugs such as Prozac regulate serotonin and have been prescribed as a sometimes-successful treatment for bulimia and anorexia over the last few years. |
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| But researchers don't know whether bulimics are born with normal serotonin levels that are disrupted by the erratic eating habits of the disorder or whether serotonin levels are already altered -- possibly from birth -- to put a person at higher risk for the disorder. |
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| Substance may identify those at risk |
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| Kaye's study suggests that serotonin may be out of whack long before a bulimic person begins the cycle of bingeing and purging. With further study, such findings could allow doctors someday to identify people at risk biologically and determine the best treatment. |
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| "It's welcome research," though not particularly surprising, since many researchers are examining the role of serotonin, said Claire Mysko, administrative director of the American Anorexia-Bulimia Association in New York. |
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| "It's a complicated disorder and there are factors coming from all sides, psychological and biological. In terms of looking at the biological side of it, it offers some hope in terms of treatment," she said. |
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| About 5 million Americans suffer from eating disorders, or about 5 percent of women and 1 percent of men, the association estimates. Anorexics tend to starve themselves and exercise obsessively, while bulimics typically binge on food, then vomit or use laxatives to "purge" themselves. |
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| "People kind of associate these kind of problems with vanity," Ms. Mysko said. Research showing a biological link "would blow that argument out of the water." |
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| Study followed recovering bulimics |
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| Kaye's group compared 31 healthy women with 30 women who once suffered from bulimia but had returned to normal eating habits for at least a year. |
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| By measuring spinal fluid, he found that the recovered bulimics had abnormally high levels of serotonin. Also, the recovered bulimics showed more symptoms associated with high levels of serotonin, including bad moods and obsessions with perfectionism. |
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| Because all of the women in the study had healthy eating habits, the findings indicate that diet alone cannot account for the altered serotonin found in women who are in the throes of bulimia. |
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| Instead, high serotonin may be a genetic condition that leaves some people prone to the disorder, Kaye said. |
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| Genetics to blame? |
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| Previous studies of twins of bulimics and anorexics have indicated that the eating disorders may be genetic, "so there's accumulating evidence here," Kaye said. A similar study by Kaye's group about five years ago also showed higher serotonin in women with anorexia. |
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| Women with high serotonin levels may be prone to eating disorders in part because the serotonin tends to make them depressed, anxious or obsessed with control, and starvation can lower the level of serotonin. Serotonin is a product of tryptophan, which comes from amino acids in food. |
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| Their abnormal eating habits make them feel temporarily better," Kaye said. |
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| But the serotonin levels may then drop below normal, which can cause feelings of impulsiveness, disorder and anxiety, so the bulimic person may binge to bring the serotonin back up again. "They start to chase something they never really can catch," Kaye said. . |
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