Analysis Of Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is a complex disorder with many factors predisposing a person to it. In an effort to better understanding the causation of the disorder researchers look at genetic factors. They have discovered a genetic linkage to anorexia nervosa on chromosome 1. Linkage refers to the likelihood that two different DNA sequences will be close to one another on the same chromosome, which explains a genetic trait if seen among two or more family members. The findings increase the complexity of this already multidimensional disorder notes University of Pittsburgh psychiatrist Walter Kaye, MD, who leads the international multisite project on the genetics of eating disorders, including this study. "Anorexia and bulimia are considered disorders that are psychosocial in origin," Kaye says. "Recently, there's been accumulating evidence for contributory biological, family and genetic components. I suspect we're going down the path we did with schizophrenia and autism 20 years ago”(DeAngelis, 2002) meaning that anorexia, similar to schizophrenia and autism, seems to have genetic susceptibilities. Better understanding the roots of the disorder can help lead to new treatment for the condition, which incidentally, have the highest mortality rate of any mental health disorder.

Using genetic linkage analysis, the study compared DNA samples of those afflicted with anorexia nervosa with those of family members who are also afflicted with an eating disorder, seeing on a person’s “genetic map” were certain genetic markers were located. At first the study analyzed DNA of individual from 192 family groupings. To be included one member of the family had to have anorexia, while another had to have an eating disorder. These groups did not yield stron...

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...she formed her theory. The patients wanted to recover and have a normal diet but felt restricted by their bodies, as if there bodies were working against them. By understanding the causation of the disease, or where the adaptive origins came from, more effective treatments can be created. It can be used to shape cognitive behavioral therapy and to give loved ones a better understanding of what is going on. One treatment discussed in the article is to get patients back to normal weight. The thought process behind this is that if patients gained back the 15 percent or more body that they lost, their body should reverse the genetically programmed anorexic response. Treatment for any disorder can be difficult, especially when people have to fight against preprogrammed instincts. They have to go against what their body is telling them to get healthy and stay healthy.