Four-year research of anorexia nervosa conducted by the American National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will start accepting patients on May 1. Anorexia nervosa is a hazardous eating problem striking mainly teenagers, especially girls.
The research will involve New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Westchester Division and five other medical research institutions in Canada and the United States. The scientists will inspect two early intervention treatment approaches in 240 youngsters, between 12 and 18 years old, who have already been diagnosed with anorexia. The parents of those teenagers will play an essential role in the research, as well.
"This is a psycho-physiological condition. This disorder is characterized by an anomalous fear of becoming obese, a distorted self-image, a constant unwillingness to eat, and serious and sudden loss of weight. Frequently it is accompanied by self-induced vomiting, excessive physical activity, malnutrition, and other harmful physiological alterations," Dr Katherine Halmi, who will be the leader of the New York-Presbyterian/Westchester team, explained in a prepared statement.
No proven treatment
"At present, merely 25 per cent of patients suffering anorexia nervosa completely recover, and 50 per cent have partial improvement, yet another 25 per cent remain chronically sick. There is also a 40 per cent rate of relapse," explained Halmi, a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and the founder and director of the New York-Presbyterian/Westchester Eating Disorder Treatment Programme.
She has done widespread study concerning anorexia nervosa.
"We have learned quite much about this highly complex condition, and we are sure that genes play an important role in determining who is susceptible to developing eating problems. Moreover, we know that early intervention involving the participation of family members within several adolescent years has proven extremely significant in effective treatment," Halmi added.
"Environmental factors, including society’s emphasis on being overly thin, may constitute some kind of a trigger that increases the risk in a person who is genetically predisposed," she explained. "Even though less than half of one percent of women experience this condition, anorexia nervosa demonstrates the highest death rate of any mental illness, which makes the controlled treatment studies we will be carrying out extremely significant in enhancing our understanding of anorexia nervosa and in developing successful therapeutic treatment plans."
