Biomaterial Database

Gastrointestinal disturbances in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. 2003

Sallie Jo Hadley, and B Timothy Walsh

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 98, New York, NY 10032, USA.

Disturbances in the functioning of the upper gastrointestinal (GI ) tract have been described in both Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN). Patients with AN experience substantial delays in gastric emptying as well as constipation. These problems may give rise to significant medical complications and may contribute to increased difficulties with refeeding and weight restoration. Reported GI disturbances in BN include increased gastric capacity, diminished gastric relaxation, delayed gastric emptying, diminished release of cholecystokinin (CCK) and abnormalities of enteric autonomic function, all of which may play a role in perpetuation of the syndrome. This article reviews evidence for the most common disturbances of GI function in AN and BN and discusses potential GI targets for therapeutic intervention.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D002032	Bulimia	Eating an excess amount of food in a short period of time, as seen in the disorder of BULIMIA NERVOSA. It is caused by an abnormal craving for food, or insatiable hunger also known as "ox hunger".	Binge Eating,Bulimias,Eating, Binge
D005767	Gastrointestinal Diseases	Diseases in any segment of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT from ESOPHAGUS to RECTUM.	Cholera Infantum,Gastrointestinal Disorders,Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders,Gastrointestinal Disorders, Functional,Disease, Gastrointestinal,Diseases, Gastrointestinal,Functional Gastrointestinal Disorder,Gastrointestinal Disease,Gastrointestinal Disorder,Gastrointestinal Disorder, Functional
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000856	Anorexia Nervosa	An eating disorder that is characterized by the lack or loss of APPETITE, known as ANOREXIA. Other features include excess fear of becoming OVERWEIGHT; BODY IMAGE disturbance; significant WEIGHT LOSS; refusal to maintain minimal normal weight; and AMENORRHEA. This disorder occurs most frequently in adolescent females. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)	Anorexia Nervosas,Nervosa, Anorexia,Nervosas, Anorexia