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| KU conducts new research on anorexia nervosa |
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Friday, April 17, 2009
By Perwez Abdullah
Karachi
Researchers at the University of Karachi (KU) Department of Biochemistry have discovered that the appetite of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa could be increased by administering an amino acid called Triptophan into the body.
Anorexia nervosa is a disorder that decreases appetite and the will to eat. Dr Darkhshan J. Haleem, senior professor at the department, along with her PhD student Tafheem Malik, found out that starvation for long periods decreases the production of serotonin in the brain. The administration of the amino acid Triptophan alleviates the levels of serotonin, thus inducing hunger in the patient.
Both Malik and Dr Haleem will travel to Chicago to attend the 24th International Symposium on Cerebral Blood Flow, Metabolism and Function being held from June 29 to July 3.
“Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric illness that describes an eating disorder characterised by extremely low body weight and body image distortion, with an obsessive fear of gaining weight,” explained Dr Naeem Siddiqui, a psychiatrist working with the Aga Khan University and the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant.
According to him, individuals who have anorexia are known to control body weight by voluntary starvation, purging, excessive exercise or other weight control measures such as diet pills or diuretic drugs. The disorder is a complex condition involving neurobiological, psychological, and sociological components, and can ultimately lead to death. While the condition primarily affects adolescent females, approximately 10 per cent of people diagnosed with it are male.
While the diagnosis of anorexia can be aided through biological tests, the diagnosis is based on a combination of behaviour, physical characteristics, reported beliefs and experiences of the patient. Anorexia is typically diagnosed by a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist or other suitably qualified clinician. Notably, diagnostic criteria are intended to assist clinicians, and are not representative of what an individual sufferer feels or experiences while living with the illness.
“The majority of research into the incidence and prevalence of anorexia has been done in Western industrialised countries, so results are generally not applicable outside those areas,” said Dr Siddiqui. However, recent reviews of studies on the epidemiology of anorexia in Pakistan have suggested an incidence of between eight and 13 cases per 100,000 persons per year, and an average prevalence of 0.3 per cent using strict criteria for diagnosis. These studies also confirm the view that the condition largely affects young adolescent females, with females between 15 and 19 years old making up 40 per cent of all cases, although the condition is not limited to any age or demographic. Furthermore, the majority of cases are unlikely to be in contact with mental health services.
“Socio-cultural studies have highlighted the role of cultural factors, particularly through the media, such as the promotion of thinness as the ideal female form in Western industrialised nations,” said Dr Anjum Ara, professor at the KU Department of Psychology. Although anorexia nervosa is usually associated with Western cultures, exposure to Western media is thought to have led to an increase in cases in non-Western countries. However, other cultures may not display the same worries about becoming fat as those with the condition in the West, and instead may present with low appetite with the other common features.
Anorexia is thought to have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. Approximately six per cent of those who are diagnosed with it eventually die due to related causes. The suicide rate of people with anorexia is also higher than that of the general population, and is thought to be the major cause of death for those with the condition.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
