According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), more than one person dies every hour in the U.S. due to an eating disorder. That equates to more than 10,000 deaths a year in America alone, reports indy100.com. The most well-known variant of eating disorders is anorexia nervosa, but bulimia is also included, which is equally widespread.
Anorexia reportedly has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses – affects people of all genders, races and socio-economic status. A new study has raised hopes that it could soon be cured with an affordable drug.
Anorexia (or anorexia nervosa) is a serious mental illness in which people are underweight due to restricting their energy intake. It can affect anyone of any age, gender, or situation. In addition to restricting the amount of food they eat, these people may also exercise excessively to get rid of the food they eat. Some people with anorexia may experience cycles of binge eating (eating large amounts of food at once) followed by purging (vomiting or diarrhea).
The way these people see themselves is at odds with how others see them – they often have a distorted self-image and think they are fatter than they actually are. They experience an immense fear of gaining weight and weight is usually a big challenge for them. It is most common in young women and teenage girls and can lead to death. (zivotbezzavislosti.sk)
Anorexia reportedly has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses. Source: unsplash.comReasons for eating disorders
A study published in the European Journal of Neuroscience shows that The most common trigger for eating disorders is stress, which can lead to emotional overeating. However, there are other factors behind the development of these diseases.
Psychiatrist Barbora Pavlová explains in her book The Spectrum of Eating Disorders that They are also influenced by, for example, social environment, age, nature, or psychological vulnerability.
The most common motive, especially among the teenage population, is the desire to be admired by those around them or to adapt to trends. People suffering from these disorders often encounter misunderstanding, as in many cases they are subjected to obsessive control over their figure or eating habits.
The drug was tested on mice
Canadian and French scientists now believe they may have discovered the brain mechanism behind anorexia. In studying mice with anorexia-like behavior, they found that a lack of a chemical called acetylcholine negatively affects the reward system in the brain, leading to the excessive formation of often unhealthy habits. This is related to the compulsive fasting that often occurs in patients with anorexia.
After identifying the imbalance, the team attempted to correct it using donepezil, a drug known to increase the presence of acetylcholine in the brain. The administration of donepezil was successful in mice. Lead author of the study, Salah El Mestikawy, confirmed that donepezil reversed anorexia-like behavior in the mice.
When will we see a cure for anorexia?
The effects of donepezil have already been tested in humans. Independent studies in Toronto and Montreal have shown positive results in ten patients with severe anorexia nervosa, three of whom achieved complete remission. The remaining seven showed significant improvement.
Additional studies comparing patients taking donepezil with those taking a placebo are scheduled to begin this year at Columbia University, the University of Denver, and the Hospital Sainte-Anne in Paris. However, Dr El Mestikawy warned that it could take many years before the drug is approved by authorities and can be used to treat anorexia patients. In addition, the drug has side effects on the digestive tract and muscles, so the team is working to develop a new compound with fewer problems.
However, if it can be developed and approved by the authorities, the team of doctors hopes that it will help a wide range of patients. "We believe that donepezil may also improve other compulsive pathologies, such as obsessive-compulsive disorders and addictions, and we are actively seeking collaborations with other psychiatrists around the world to explore these possibilities," said Dr. El Mestikawy.
However, other experts point out that any drug that has side effects is not a solution. However, the use of appropriate medications, especially in combination with appropriate behavioral therapies, can prove to be very effective.
The most common trigger for eating disorders is stress. Source: unsplash.comEating disorders in numbers
- More than 70 million people worldwide (20 million in the EU) suffer from eating disorders, but only 25 percent of them seek and receive professional help.
- It is a psychosomatic illness that affects one in six young women.
- It is the mental illness with the highest mortality rate. Every hour someone dies from the consequences of PPP, 25 percent of patients commit suicide.
- The disease lasts an average of 6 years in a person's life.
- Around 97 percent of people with PPP have another associated psychiatric diagnosis (comorbidity).
- People with eating disorders: 47 percent of them suffer from a diagnosis of binge eating disorder, 12 percent from bulimia nervosa, 3 percent from anorexia nervosa, and 38 percent from other specified eating disorders (OSFED). (chutzit.sk/statistics)