Sex Differences in Binge Eating Patterns in Male and Female Adult Rats.

Sex differences in binge eating patterns in male and female adult rats.

Int J Eat Disord. 2013 Apr 29;
Klump KL, Racine S, Hildebrandt B, Sisk CL

OBJECTIVE: Several efforts are underway to model binge eating in animals in order to advance neurobiological models of risk. However, knowledge of sex differences in these models is currently lacking. The goal of the present study was to examine sex differences in binge eating phenotypes using a well-established rodent model (i.e., the binge eating resistant/binge eating prone model). METHOD: Thirty male and 30 female adult Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to feeding tests consisting of intermittent access to palatable food (PF). Rats were then categorized as binge eating prone (BEP) based on the amount and consistency of PF consumption across tests. RESULTS: Across multiple methods for BEP classification, rates of BEP phenotypes were two to six times higher in female than male rats. DISCUSSION: Findings provide support for sex differences in rodent models of binge eating and highlight the promise of the BER/BEP model for understanding neurobiological mechanisms underlying sex differences in risk. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013). HubMed – eating

 

Eating disorder risk behavior and dental implications among adolescents.

Int J Eat Disord. 2013 Apr 29;
Hermont AP, Pordeus IA, Paiva SM, Abreu MH, Auad SM

OBJECTIVE: To compare the occurrence of tooth erosion (TE) and dental caries (DC) in adolescents with and without risk behavior for eating disorders (EDs). METHOD: A controlled cross-sectional study involving 1,203 randomly selected female students aged 15-18 years was conducted in Brazil. Risk behavior for EDs was evaluated through the Bulimic Investigatory Test of Edinburgh and dental examinations were performed. RESULTS: The prevalence of risk behavior for EDs was 6%. Twenty adolescents (1.7%) were identified with severe risk behavior for EDs and matched to 80 adolescents without such risk. Among the severe risk group, 45% of adolescents were affected by TE and 80% by DC compared with 8.8 and 51.3%, respectively, in the matched group. Adolescents with severe risk had higher chances for TE (OR = 10.04; 95% CI = 2.5-39.4). DISCUSSION: In this study, a severe risk behavior for EDs was significantly associated with TE, but not with DC. HubMed – eating

 

Inflammatory activation and cholinergic anti-inflammatory system in eating disorders.

Brain Behav Immun. 2013 Apr 24;
Macdowell KS, Díaz-Marsá M, Güemes I, Rodríguez A, Leza JC, Carrasco JL

Dysfunctional serotoninergic regulation and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis overreactivity have been consistently reported in research studies with eating disorders (ED). In addition, the links between stress response, serotonin function, HPA axis and inflammatory mechanisms in ED have also been suggested in a number of studies. In our study, inflammatory parameters in white blood cells were investigated in 26 female patients with ED and 25 healthy control subjects matched for sex, age and ethnicity. Patients were free of medication for at least two weeks at the time of the study. Results showed a significant increase in plasma levels of the proinflammatory cytokine IL1? and the protein expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) in peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PMBC) in ED patients compared with controls. As well as a significant increase of the oxidative-nitrosative marker TBARS (Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances) in plasma. These findings were associated with increased expression of the alpha7 subunit of the nicotinic receptor (?7nAChR) in PMBC in ED patients independent of plasma cotinine levels. These results suggest that a pro-inflammatory and oxidant phenotype might be present in ED patients. Further research on cellular inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways might be oriented to investigate differences between ED subtypes and to search for new potential targets for pharmacological treatment. HubMed – eating