Brain Studies Offer New Hope for Anorexia Nervosa

Previous studies have shown that women with anorexia nervosa, both when when suffering from the illness and even after recovery, may show altered serotonin activity and may continue to experience core eating disorder symptoms, such as anxiety.

A new study, available in full text form from the Archives of General Psychiatry, sheds further light on alterations in serotonergic activity after recovery from one type of anorexia nervosa. (One subtype is characterized by restricted eating, while the other subtype is characterized by alternations between restrictive eating and bulimic symptoms, such as episodes of purging and/or binge eating. The study observed increased serotonin receptor binding in women who had recovered from bulimia-type anorexia nervosa but not restricting-type anorexia nervosa; serotonin receptor binding was still associated with anxiety in women who had recovered from restricting-type anorexia nervosa.)

As the article concludes:

There are no proven treatments for AN, and this illness has the highest mortality of any psychiatric disorder. These data offer the promise of a new understanding of the pathogenesis of AN and new drug and psychological treatment targets.

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