Eating Disorders Linked to Autoimmune Problems

Dec. 23, 2002 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa may have more in common with autoimmune disorders like arthritis and multiple sclerosis than doctors ever thought.

According to Swedish investigators, patients with these disorders have antibodies that attach to areas in the brain responsible for secreting chemicals that interfere with brain signals, similar to the process in typical autoimmune diseases. In the case of these eating disorders, the interference occurs in signals that regulate food intake and body weight.

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affect about 3 percent of women during their lifetimes, and both illnesses usually begin at a young age. Anorexia is associated with an aversion to food while bulimia is characterized by binging and purging. In both diseases, sufferers experience exaggerated concerns about body image and shape. Past research has suggested the conditions may result from a neurobiological source.

These researchers tested this theory by isolating antibodies found in blood samples of anorexia and bulimia patients and then seeing if they would attach to key cells in rat brain samples. Forty-two out of 57 patients studied had antibodies that attached to the cells.

While researchers are not sure how these attachments may lead to the eating disorders, they speculate the antibodies may interfere with important brain signals aimed at regulating eating behavior or even destroying them. However, they note, a small number of people without eating disorders in their study also had these antibodies, suggesting antibodies alone do not doom someone to an eating disorder.