Search

Background: This study explored state-related tendencies in DNA methylation in people with anorexia nervosa. Methods: We measured genome-wide DNA methylation in 75 women with active anorexia nervosa (active), 31 women showing stable remission of anorexia nervosa (remitted) and 41 women with no eating disorder (NED). We also obtained postintervention methylation data from 52 of the women from the active group. Results: Comparisons between members of the active and NED groups showed 58 differentially methylated sites (Q < 0.01) that corresponded to genes relevant to metabolic and nutritional status (lipid and glucose metabolism), psychiatric status (serotonin receptor activity) and immune function. Methylation levels in members of the remitted group differed from those in the active group on 265 probes that also involved sites associated with genes for serotonin and insulin activity, glucose metabolism and immunity. Intriguingly, the direction of methylation effects in remitted participants tended to be opposite to those seen in active participants. The chronicity of Illness correlated (usually inversely, at Q < 0.01) with methylation levels at 64 sites that mapped onto genes regulating glutamate and serotonin activity, insulin function and epigenetic age. In contrast, body mass index increases coincided (at Q < 0.05) with generally increased methylation-level changes at 73 probes associated with lipid and glucose metabolism, immune and inflammatory processes, and olfaction. Limitations: Sample sizes were modest for this type of inquiry, and findings may have been subject to uncontrolled effects of medication and substance use. Conclusion: Findings point to the possibility of reversible epigenetic alterations in anorexia nervosa, and suggest that an adequate pathophysiological model would likely need to include psychiatric, metabolic and immune components., Introduction Anorexia nervosa can devastate medical, psychological and social adjustments, and despite treatment advances, only about half of people with the condition achieve full remission after 10 or more years. [...]

Recent studies have reported altered methylation levels at disorder-relevant DNA sites in people who are ill with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) compared to findings in people with no eating disorder (ED) or in whom AN has remitted. The preceding implies state-related influences upon gene expression in people with AN. This study further examined this notion. We measured genome-wide DNA methylation in 145 women with active AN, 49 showing stable one-year remission of AN, and 64 with no ED. Comparisons revealed 205 differentially methylated sites between active and no ED groups, and 162 differentially methylated sites between active and remitted groups (Q < 0.01). Probes tended to map onto genes relevant to psychiatric, metabolic and immune functions. Notably, several of the genes identified here as being differentially methylated in people with AN (e.g. SYNJ2, PRKAG2, STAT3, CSGALNACT1, NEGR1, NR1H3) have figured in previous studies on AN. Effects also associated illness chronicity and lower BMI with more pronounced DNA methylation alterations, and remission of AN with normalisation of DNA methylation. Findings corroborate earlier results suggesting reversible DNA methylation alterations in AN, and point to particular genes at which epigenetic mechanisms may act to shape AN phenomenology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Findings show virtual therapy (conducted using internet‐based videoconferencing techniques) to be a viable alternative to in‐person therapy for a variety of mental‐health problems. COVID‐19 social‐distancing imperatives required us to substitute virtual interventions for in‐person sessions routinely offered in our outpatient eating disorder (ED) program—and afforded us an opportunity to compare the two treatment formats for clinical efficacy. Methods: Using self‐report assessments, we compared outcomes in a historical sample of 49 adults with heterogeneous EDs (treated in‐person over 10–14 weeks in individual and group therapies) to those of 76 patients receiving comparable virtual treatments, at distance, during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Linear mixed models were used to study symptom changes over time and to test for differential effects of treatment modality. Results: Participants in both groups showed similar improvements on eating symptoms, levels of weight gain (in individuals in whom gain was indicated), and satisfaction with services. Discussion: Our results suggest that short‐term clinical outcomes with virtual and in‐person ED therapies are comparable, and point to potentials of virtual therapy for situations in which geographical distance or other barriers impede physical access to trained therapists or specialized treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A list of reviewers for Psychological Medicine in 2022, acknowledging the contributions and expertise of various individuals in reviewing research articles for the journal.

Objetivo: Cabría esperar que las alteraciones del lenguaje asociadas con la esquizofrenia tuvieran un intenso impacto sobre la capacidad de producir un discurso coherente, pero las asociaciones entre el rendimiento cognitivo y los trastornos del lenguaje han sido habitualmente débiles. Es posible que hallazgos al respecto hayan estado limitados por los métodos de medición y por la heterogeneidad del trastorno del lenguaje. Este estudio examinó las contribuciones de las alteraciones del mantenimiento de la atención y de la capacidad de secuenciación en el trastorno esquizofrénico del lenguaje, medido en cuanto a fallos de la comunicación y dividido en diferentes tipos de trastorno. Método: Se recopilaron muestras de habla natural de pacientes institucionalizados gravemente enfermos y de individuos no psiquiátricos de comparación, y se evaluó la frecuencia de seis tipos de fallos de comunicación: cuatro tipos estructurales y dos no estructurales. Los individuos también completaron una batería de pruebas cognitivas que evaluaban varias facetas de la atención y de la capacidad de secuenciación. Se empleó la regresión jerárquica para identificar los contribuyentes cognitivos a los fallos de comunicación. Resultados: El déficit del mantenimiento de la atención se asoció con una mayor frecuencia de fallos estructurales de comunicación. Como se había pronosticado, el déficit de la secuenciación y, especialmente, de la secuenciación conceptual, también tuvo una contribución fundamental a los fallos estructurales de la comunicación, pero no a los no estructurales. Estos resultados se mantuvieron cuando se controló estadísticamente el grado global de alteración. Los resultados de las pruebas de atención y de secuenciación explicaron el 56 % de la varianza del trastorno estructural del lenguaje. Conclusiones: El trastorno esquizofrénico del lenguaje es heterogéneo en su forma y en sus fundamentos cognitivos. Los déficit de atención y de las capacidades de secuenciación pronostican en gran medida los fallos de comunicación relacionados con la estructura del lenguaje. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]