hit tracker
Physical Sciences Earth Sciences Biology Front Page Medicine Neurosciences Culture

User login

Columnists

Banner

Laura Collins

Is anorexia an addiction?

Psychobiology

We grow closer and closer to an understanding of the mechanisms underlying addictions, and with that knowledge we also learn about other illnesses. It is not new to think of eating disorders as addictions, but the connection has often been one of analogy, not brain function.

Bringing the family into the therapy

Psychology

When a child has a medical problem, doctors see the child and parent together. It would be unusual to have a clinician meet alone with a minor with an illness or injury or a regular check-up. But this situation is reversed in child psychology.

Why heritability matters in mental illness

Genetics

Dr. Cynthia Bulik, William R. and Jeanne H. Jordan Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders at the University of North Carolina, spoke forcefully at yesterday's US Congressional Briefing organized by the Eating Disorders Coalition.

Bulik gave a 20-minute talk that could, if widely available, change the way society - and patients - look at eating disorders.

The research she cites is well-established, but still controversial among clinicians treating the illness.

Suicide risk and anorexia

Psychobiology

Among the many benefits accruing from the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa Collaborative Study funded by the NIH is the ability to study other issues related to AN. A recent paper on Suicide Attempts in Anorexia Nervosa published in Psychosomatic Medicine offers much-needed examination of an important topic.

A high proportion of deaths from anorexia are not from starvation; patients take their own lives, often in the early stages of recovery. Just last week, one of the subjects of the HBO documentary Thin lost her life after years of struggle.

The recent research identifies an important difference between eating disorder subtypes: "restrictive" anorexics are less at risk for suicide attempts. As genetics research advances, many useful diagnostic tools will surely emerge. With an illness with such a high rate of morbidity, any advances are welcome news for patients and families.

Syndicate content

Category Feeds

Science Jobs

Books By Writers Here

Internships

We do offer unpaid internships in programming and science journalism to college students or recent graduates seeking to build up their portfolios.

Development interns will need to be proficient in PHP and CSS and provide samples of work done in a multi-user environment platform and sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Science journalists will need to provide samples from a university newspaper or professional publication and list which semester they want to work.

Please use the contact info available in the footer of the page.