- New Drug Regimen Extends Survival for Cervical Cancer Patients
- Listeria Recall Expands to Include Nearly 12 Million Pounds of Meat, Poultry
- Weight-Loss Meds Like Wegovy Could Battle Alcoholism
- Older People More Prone to Relocating After Dementia Diagnosis
- Dad’s Use of Diabetes Med Metformin Won’t Raise Birth Defect Risk
- Are Stroke Survivors Getting Too Many Sedatives Like Xanax, Valium?
- Silent Damage First: Alzheimer’s Disease Could Have Two Phases
- What’s the Best Clot-Buster Med After Stroke?
- Oct. 7 Tragedy Spurs Israeli Researcher to Study Grief Over Sibling Loss
- The Right Time is Now to Get Your Flu Vaccine
New Research Points Towards Potential Treatment for Anorexia
Anorexia nervosa could be caused by lack of a specific brain chemical, reports a research team that has developed a possible cure for the eating disorder.
Mouse studies have revealed that a deficit in acetycholine, a neurotransmitter associated with the brain’s reward system, could be linked to excessive habit formation.
This deficit could be behind the compulsive self-starvation seen in people with anorexia, researchers argue in the July 7 issue of the journal Nature Communications.
The Alzheimer’s drug donepezil, which increases acetylcholine, “fully reversed the anorexia-like behaviour in mice, and we believe that it could potentially offer the first mechanism-based treatment of anorexia nervosa,” said senior researcher Dr. Salah El Mestikawy, professor of psychiatry with McGill University’s Douglas Research Center in Montreal.
“In fact, we are already seeing its effects on some patients with the disease,” El Mestikawy added in a McGill news release.
Positive results have already been seen in 10 patients with severe anorexia who are being treated with low doses of donepezil, researchers said.
Three patients are in full remission from anorexia, and the other seven have shown marked improvements, results show.
Full-fledged clinical trials comparing donepezil against placebo in treating anorexia are set to start later this year at three major hospitals in the United States and France, researchers said.
However, El Mestikawy cautioned that it could take several years before a new drug targeting anorexia receives government approval and becomes available to patients.
Donazepil causes many gastrointestinal and muscle side effects, El Mestikawy said. Researchers are working to develop a new drug that boosts acetylcholine with fewer problems.
“We also suspect that other compulsive pathologies such as obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and addictions can also be improved by donepezil, so we are actively looking for collaboration with other psychiatrist around the world to explore the possibilities,” El Mestikawy added.
More information
Johns Hopkins Medicine has more on anorexia.
SOURCE: McGill University, news release, July 7, 2024
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.