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Cortisol Receptor Gene Linked to Binge Eating Disorder

Fortunately, binge-eating disorder is highly responsive to treatment, and professional psychological counseling can lead to the resolution of binge-eating behaviours in the vast majority of patients.

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Cortisol Receptor Gene Linked to Binge Eating Disorder

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  1. Cortisol Receptor Gene Linked to Binge Eating Disorder

  2. GlucocorticoidSystem & IngestiveBehaviour • Anyone who has ever taken high doses of cortisone is well aware of the profound effect of glucocorticoids on appearance and body weight. • Not only do patients on high doses of cortisone regularly develop a typical Cushingoid phenotype (with abdominal obesity, moon face and buffalo hump) but patients also develop a ravenous hunger and appetite with an often dramatic increase in food intake. • Given this impact of the glucocorticoid system on ingestivebehaviour, it may be reasonable to ask whether genetic differences in this system can perhaps also play a role in eating disorders? • This question was now addressed by Cellini and colleagues from the University of Florence, Italy, in a paper just published online in Psychiatric Genetics. Notes: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20440229

  3. Glucocorticoid Receptor - Study • The authors studied the distribution of various variants of the glucocorticoid receptor gene in 572 Italian patients: 118 patients with anorexia nervosa, 108 patients with bulimia nervosa, 62 patient with binge eating disorder, 177 obese non-binge eating disorder patients, and 107 unrelated, normal, age-matched controls. • While there were no significant relationships between any of the receptor polymorphisms and other eating disorders, there was a significant association between one variant (rs6198) and binge eating disorder. • In addition, irrespective of eating behaviour, individuals with another genetic variant of this receptor (N363S) tended to have higher a BMI.

  4. Findings • While it is always wise to treat such findings, especially when they come from a single, relatively small study, with caution, these results are certainly compatible with the notion that the glucocorticoid system (perhaps not unexpectedly) may well play a role in the development of obesity and binge eating disorder (at least in a subset of patients). • Although it is highly unlikely that finding these genetic variants will lead to a genetic diagnostic test anytime soon, people with this problem may find some comfort in the idea that their genetic makeup may well be a factor that determines their susceptibility to this disorder. • Fortunately, binge-eating disorder is highly responsive to treatment, and professional psychological counseling (sometimes in combination with pharmacotherapy) can lead to the resolution of binge-eating behaviours in the vast majority of patients.

  5. About Dr. Arya M. Sharma Dr. Arya M. Sharma, MD/PhD, FRCPC is Professor of Medicine & Chair for Obesity Research and Management at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. He is also the Medical Director of the Edmonton Capital Health Region’s interdisciplinary Weight Wise Program. Dr. Sharma is also the Scientific Director of the Canadian Obesity Network funded through the federal Networks of Centres Excellence program. Dr. Sharma has authored and co-authored more than 250 scientific articles and has lectured widely on the etiology and management of obesity and related cardiovascular disorders. He sends his informative messages through his blog Dr. Sharma’s Obesity Notes. For more information on Obesity visit; Website: http://www.drsharma.ca/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Arya-Sharma/115328778486319

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