Study on the genetics of anorexia nervosa
Clix Pix
the National Institute of Mental Health, is currently underway. The
research group, consisting of 10 sites across North America and
Europe, needs 400 families to participate in the study. They are
almost half way there, and are entering the third year of this five
year study. Now more than ever, the researchers need the help of
people like you!
The study is looking for families where 2 or more relatives-sisters,
brothers, cousins, aunts, grandparents - currently have anorexia or
had it in the past. If your family fits this description and you'd
like more information about participating, call 1-888-895-3886 (toll
free), email at edres...@upmc.edu or visit http://www.angenetics.org
. If you have patients with relatives who've had anorexia, please tell
them about this study.
Existing studies have suggested that genes may create susceptibilities
for developing anorexia nervosa. Since this is such a complex
disease, a large number of families will be needed to improve our
understanding of how genes interact with environment to cause
anorexia.
Insurance often does not provide sufficient support for treatment of
eating disorders. A better understanding of factors that contribute
to eating disorders may result in better treatments and aid in
improving resources for treatment.
Updates on the progress of this research were made at the National
Eating Disorder Association's (NEDA) annual conference in Atlanta, GA
in October. Researchers from this collaboration will hold a symposium
on the genetics of eating disorders, followed by a Q&A panel, at the
Academy for Eating Disorders annual conference in Montreal in April
2005.
Information about this study is available on the website:
http://www.angenetics.org Articles from previous studies by this
collaboration can be found at: http://www.anbn.org Information about
eating disorders is available at: www.gurze.com or
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
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