Anorexia Breakthrough Gives Hope for an Rx

[udontno]

Article

(Newser) – New research revealing brain differences in anorexics offers hope that drugs could one day soon effectively battle the disease, according to scientists. Some 70% of anorexics show signs of problems with neurotransmitters, which help brain cells communicate. The differences are believed to occur in the womb. The findings could "pave the way for the first drugs to treat eating disorders, similar to the way that anti-depressants help re-balance the brain of people with depression," a scientist told the Telegraph.
"We are learning more and more that some people are very vulnerable to anorexia" because of "genetic factors and brain chemistry, and not them trying to look like models or suffering a major traumatic event."

If they could make medicines to help deal with anorexia that actually work, it would be amazing.

[losing touch.]

wow this is a great breakthrough, hopefully they can develop drugs to battle anorexia, that would be wonderful.

[soul]

The only problem I could see with this is... would the people who need it most even take it?

[Kathey]

And medication cannot change the traumatic childhoods of many people with anorexia, that led to them using it as a coping mechanism.

[udontno]

Originally Posted by soul

The only problem I could see with this is... would the people who need it most even take it?

It's worth a shot. It's better to have the option than to have nothing at all.

Originally Posted by Kathey

And medication cannot change the traumatic childhoods of many people with anorexia, that led to them using it as a coping mechanism.

The medication can not change that, but the medication would most likely be used in conjunction with other forms of treatment. Whatever kind of medicine they make, it won't be a miracle "cure all" pill. You'll have to work to get better.

[Barbed Lungs]

This is a great breakthrough, I really hope it proves succesful!

[lauren_160]

Agreed with the poster above, i hopeit works out!

[noise94]

Wow, that's pretty awesome.
I hope it works!

[eunoia]

Hand-in-hand with therapy, this could be amazing. I just hope it doesn't give people the impression that it is to be used as a cure all for eating disorders, effectively silencing people about their pasts.

[WashoutThePain]

This is why I love science! I hope it all works out

[Casey.]

This is a good breakthrough.If it works, it will be amazing, but they'd still need some form of therapy to help them too.

[Heretic]

I agree with Jess. If it's used in conjunction with therapy, it'll be a marvelous thing. But it may also be difficult to make sure that the people who need it most actually use it.

[R.K.]

Originally Posted by Kathey

And medication cannot change the traumatic childhoods of many people with anorexia, that led to them using it as a coping mechanism.

Yeah... I'm skeptic about this story... It just seems very weird... I don't reject that there is some brain chemistry shit going on wrong in the head, but at the same time I doubt that's all that triggers it.

[InSovietRussiaORGASMGotU]

Originally Posted by R.K.

Yeah... I'm skeptic about this story... It just seems very weird... I don't reject that there is some brain chemistry shit going on wrong in the head, but at the same time I doubt that's all that triggers it.

This. There may be a predisposition, however, the right amounts of stress would be needed to trigger the disorder (diathesis-stress paradigm). I think the answer isn't only what occurs while the fetus is in the womb but what makes the kid develop it later on, and what causes those changes in the womb.