把它推到基因的頭上 心裡會好一點... - 厭食

這兩年來我一直自責
也覺得家人都在怪我是我很奇怪
為什麼把胖瘦看的這麼重要
但是對我而言size does matter..
我不由自主的虐待自己也不知道該怎麼辦才好
心情很糟


今天的一篇新聞..
全怪到基因好了
並不是你的父母沒教好
也好

文章讓我印象深刻的是
它說向來以為是腦中某部影響患者的體重控制
現在發現可能是身體內荷爾蒙
除此之外 低血壓一直是厭食者特徵之一
文章也提 或許這是基因的表現 而不是厭食後才有
啊..講不清楚 看文章吧

Gene Tied to Anorexia Nervosa

Monday May 08, 2006 (1122 PST)

ISLAMABAD: Australian scientists have found a gene variant that contributes
to anorexia nervosa in a large number of patients. The gene variant, which
the researchers call the "first major crack in the genetic mystery around
anorexia," helps regulate the body’s norepinephrine (or noradrenalin) system.

This marks a sharp departure from previous research avenues; scientific
detectives had previously assumed that the key to anorexia lay in the brain’
s serotonin system.

"People have believed for a long time that anorexia nervosa had a genetic
basis, and the issue has been how much is genetic and how much is
environmental," says Dr. Ilene Fennoy, chief of pediatric endocrinology at
St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. "That has major
implications for how aggressively you pursue pharmaceutical interventions and
even genetic interventions. Identifying a genetic locus is a very crucial
piece of where one can go."

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder that mainly affects young women.
These women become obsessed with dieting and losing weight and often stop
eating. Anorexia has the highest death rate of all psychiatric disorders.

Previously, researchers thought the signs of anorexia, including low blood
pressure and low pulse, might be due to starvation.

"But now there’s the possibility that it’s not due to starvation but to the
actual genetics of the way this chemical is handled," says Dr. Kenneth Nunn,
senior clinical author of the study and a clinical associate professor in
child psychiatry at Children’s Hospital in Westmead, Australia. "One of the
problems in anorexia is distinguishing between the cause and effect of
starvation."

It appears that people with this genetic variation have problems in the way
the chemical norepinephrine, which is involved in sending messages related to
stress, is "recycled" or put back into circulation to be used again. As long
as your body has enough fuel, the system works fine. But if you go on a diet
and run out of fuel, the system goes into shut-down, Nunn says. "Then they don
’t want to eat and they have less fuel and it becomes a vicious cycle," he
says.

"Normal" girls (and sometimes boys) can go on a diet and stop without much of
a problem. Those with the genetic variation can’t.

The unusual thing about this research is that treatments are available.
"There are things we can do straight away," says Nunn.

One thing you can do is kick-start the norepinephrine system by making sure
the patient’s diet contains tyrosine, which can be broken down into the
chemicals the body needs. Ironically, diet drinks may do the trick because
they contain phenylalanine (used as a sweetener), which breaks down into
tyrosine and in turn is eventually converted into norepinephrine.

Some of the newer antidepressants, such as reboxetine, target the
norepinephrine system and may help combat the disorder. It’s also possible
that some of the drugs that target the serotonin system would help, the
researchers say.

The findings may help in the effort to distinguish between different subtypes
of anorexia.

Certainly, the study shifts the equation between genetic and environmental
factors. "The evidence is slowly gathering," Nunn says. "We know that this is
not a disease caused by bad parenting."



End.

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