A study associates genetic causes that could cause eating disorders
A group of American researchers has detected specific genes that could increase the risk of suffering from some eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
“There are two genetic mutations that appear to be associated with an increased risk of developing this type of disorder,” point out members of the research team from the University of Iowa and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
The study shows that the genes interact in the same signaling direction in the brain and that the two mutations end up triggering the same biological effect.
To detect this phenomenon, scholars have analyzed large families with at least one member with an eating disorder.
Eating disorders and their cultural factors
The results indicate that this research opens a field of analysis to try to understand more deeply the disorders associated with eating, and although in many cases the influence of culture and beauty ideals of advertising play a determining role, the field of research on the influence of certain genes in the development of this type of pathologies can clear up new unknowns and open new avenues towards a better diagnosis and understanding of diseases.
Likewise, the study suggests that the mutations responsible for reducing the activity of estrogen receptor alpha proteinwhose function is to mobilize the expression of other genes, amplify the risk of suffering these alterations.
