Anorexia and bulimia may have a genetic origin
A study associates genetic causes that could cause eating disorders
A group of researchers from the United States has detected specific genes that could increase the risk of suffering some eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
"There are two genetic mutations that seem to be associated with an increased risk of developing these types of disorders," say members of the research team at the University of Iowa and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
The study shows that the genes interact in the same sense of signaling 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 suggest that this research opens a field of analysis to try to understand more deeply the disorders associated with food, 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 new unknowns and open new ways towards a better diagnosis and understanding of diseases.
Also, the study suggests that the mutations responsible for reducing the activity of the alpha estrogen receptor protein , whose function is to mobilize the expression of other genes, amplify the risk of suffering these alterations.
