Changes in Self-Regulation-Related Prefrontal Activities in Eating Disorders: A Near Infrared Spectroscopy Study.
Changes in self-regulation-related prefrontal activities in eating disorders: a near infrared spectroscopy study.
PLoS One. 2013; 8(3): e59324
Sutoh C, Nakazato M, Matsuzawa D, Tsuru K, Niitsu T, Iyo M, Shimizu E
The aim of this study is to clarify the symptomatology of the eating disorders examining the prefrontal function and activity associated with self-regulation among participants with or without eating disorders.Ten patients with anorexia nervosa, fourteen with bulimia nervosa, and fourteen healthy control participants performed two cognitive tasks assessing self-regulatory functions, an auditorily distracted word fluency task and a rock-paper-scissors task under the measurements on prefrontal oxyhemoglobin concentration with near infrared spectroscopy. The psychiatric symptoms of patient groups were assessed with several questionnaires.Patients with bulimia nervosa showed decreased performances and prefrontal hyper activation patterns. Prefrontal activities showed a moderate negative correlation with task performances not in the patient groups but only in the healthy participants. The prefrontal activities of the patient groups showed positive correlations with some symptom scale aspects.The decreased cognitive abilities and characteristic prefrontal activation patterns associated with self-regulatory functions were shown in patients with bulimia nervosa, which correlated with their symptoms. These findings suggest inefficient prefrontal self-regulatory function of bulimia nervosa that associate with its symptoms. HubMed – eating
Diverse roles of neurotensin agonists in the central nervous system.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2013; 4: 36
Boules M, Li Z, Smith K, Fredrickson P, Richelson E
Neurotensin (NT) is a tridecapeptide that is found in the central nervous system (CNS) and the gastrointestinal tract. NT behaves as a neurotransmitter in the brain and as a hormone in the gut. Additionally, NT acts as a neuromodulator to several neurotransmitter systems including dopaminergic, sertonergic, GABAergic, glutamatergic, and cholinergic systems. Due to its association with such a wide variety of neurotransmitters, NT has been implicated in the pathophysiology of several CNS disorders such as schizophrenia, drug abuse, Parkinson’s disease (PD), pain, central control of blood pressure, eating disorders, as well as, cancer and inflammation. The present review will focus on the role that NT and its analogs play in schizophrenia, endocrine function, pain, psychostimulant abuse, and PD. HubMed – eating
Food Insecurity and Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women at Alcohol-Serving Establishments in South Africa.
Prev Sci. 2013 Mar 23;
Eaton LA, Pitpitan EV, Kalichman SC, Sikkema KJ, Skinner D, Watt MH, Pieterse D, Cain DN
South Africa has the highest rate of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in the world. While efforts have been made to curb the high rate of FAS, little is known about situational factors that may contribute to alcohol use during pregnancy. In the current paper, we focus on the role of food insecurity and its relationship to alcohol use among pregnant women. Women completed computer-assisted interviews. Generalized linear modeling was used in all analyses. Women attending alcohol-serving establishments in a township in Cape Town, South Africa were recruited for the study. Five hundred sixty women were sampled and 95 women reported being pregnant. High levels of alcohol use were reported among pregnant women: 65 % of women consumed alcohol at least every month and 29 % consumed alcohol as often as two to three times per week. Thirty-four percent of the women reported having six or more drinks per occasion on at least a weekly basis. The majority (87 %) of pregnant women reported experiencing some form of food insecurity (e.g., food unavailable, eating less) in the past month. Alcohol use was significantly associated with food insecurity, even when controlling for relevant demographic variables. Intervention with pregnant women who consume alcohol is urgently needed. Future research should focus on understanding the intersection of food insecurity and alcohol, and how the experience of food insecurity may contribute to greater rates of alcohol use and abuse among pregnant women. HubMed – eating
Eating Disorders in the modeling industry Part 1 – The Elephant in the Room: Eating Disorders in the modeling industry. Many young girls look up to the unattainable image of the fashion model and struggle to …