PSYCHOBIOLOGY OF EATING DISORDERS
Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
David C. Jimerson, M.D., Barbara E. Wolfe, Ph.D., R.N., Eran D. Metzger, M.D., Pamela K. Keel, Ph.D., Christos S. Mantzoros, M.D., Dianne M. Finkelstein, Ph.D.
This project is directed toward a greater understanding of psychosocial and psychobiological factors contributing to illness onset, symptom perpetuation, recovery, and treatment non-response in patients with bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder and related disorders. Psychological parameters under investigation as predictors of clinical course and treatment responsiveness, and as possible correlates of neurotransmitter alteration, include symptoms of depression, anxiety, impulsive behaviors and body image disturbances. Neurobiological factors of interest include central nervous system (CNS) amine neurotransmitters, cholecystokinin (CCK) and other neuropeptides, and leptin. Several investigations focus on the hypothesis that decreased CNS serotonin function contributes to binge eating behaviors and mood dysregulation in some patients with bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Physiological studies include assessment of pharmacological effects on neuro-endocrine regulation during active illness and following recovery. Collaborative clinical investigations include comparative studies in other psychiatric disorders showing therapeutic response to antidepressant medications.
Key words: eating disorders, bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, serotonin, leptin
Grant Support. NIMH: R01 MH 45466: Serotonin Function in Patients with Eating Disorders (DCJ); NIMH: R01 MH 61836: Binge Eating: Clinical Patterns & Biological Correlates (PKK); NIH: MO1 RR 01032: General Clinical Research Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (M Rosenblatt, PI).
Program Sites. Department of Psychiatry and General Clinical Research Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Program Director. David C. Jimerson, M.D., Psychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215.
Contact Person. Kristie Smith, M.A., Study Coordinator. Phone: (617) 667-4672. Fax: (617) 667-3225.
Training Opportunities. This is a program site for the NIMH Clinical Research Training Program (HMS Psychiatry, ST Hauser/RW McCarley, PI).
Representative Publications.
Jimerson DC, Wolfe BE, Metzger ED, Finkelstein DM, Cooper TB, Levine JM. Decreased serotonin function in bulimia nervosa. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1997; 54:529-534.
Mantzoros C, Flier JS, Lesem MD, Brewerton TD. Jimerson DC. Cerebrospinal fluid leptin in anorexia nervosa: Correlation with nutritional status and potential role in resistance to weight gain. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1997; 82:1845-1851.
Jimerson DC, Wolfe BE, Naab S. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In Coffee CE and Brumback RA, eds. Textbook of Pediatric Neuropsychiatry. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press, 1998; 563-578.
Jimerson DC, Mantzoros C, Wolfe BE, Metzger ED. Decreased serum leptin in bulimia nervosa. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2000;85:4511-4514.
Jimerson DC, Wolfe BE. Eating disorders: neurobiology and symptomatology. In Asbury AK, McKhann G, McDonald WI, Goadsby PJ, McArthur JC, eds. Diseases of the Nervous System: Clinical Neuroscience and Therapeutic Principles, 3rd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002, in press.
December, 2001