Neuroimaging in eating disorders

Neuroimaging techniques have been useful tools for accurate investigation of brain structure and function in eating disorders. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and voxel-based morphometry have been the most relevant technologies in this regard. The purpose of this review is to update the existing data on neuroimaging in eating disorders. The main brain changes seem to be reversible to some extent after adequate weight restoration. Brain changes in bulimia nervosa seem to be less pronounced than in anorexia nervosa and are mainly due to chronic dietary restrictions. Different subtypes of eating disorders might be correlated with specific brain functional changes. Moreover, anorectic patients who binge/purge may have different functional brain changes compared with those who do not binge/purge. Functional changes in the brain might have prognostic value, and different changes with receptors may be persistent after respect to the binding potential of 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and D2/D3 recovering from an eating disorder

Sudden death in eating disorders

Eating disorders are usually associated with an increased risk of premature death with a wide range of rates and causes of mortality. “Sudden death” has been defined as the abrupt and unexpected occurrence of fatality for which no satisfactory explanation of the cause can be ascertained. In many cases of sudden death, autopsies do not clarify the main cause. Cardiovascular complications are usually involved in these deaths. The purpose of this review was to report an update of the existing literature data on the main findings with respect to sudden death in eating disorders by means of a search conducted in PubMed. The most relevant conclusion of this review seems to be that the main causes of sudden death in eating disorders are those related to cardiovascular complications. The predictive value of the increased QT interval dispersion as a marker of sudden acute ventricular arrhythmia and death has been demonstrated. Eating disorder patients with severe cardiovascular symptoms should be hospitalized. In general, with respect to sudden death in eating disorders, some findings (eg, long-term eating disorders, chronic hypokalemia, chronically low plasma albumin, and QT intervals >600 milliseconds) must be taken into account, and it must be highlighted that during refeeding, the adverse effects of hypophosphatemia include cardiac failure. Monitoring vital signs and performing electrocardiograms and serial measurements of plasma potassium are relevant during the treatment of eating disorder patients

Navigation and history of science: The submarine ARA San Juan

On November 13, 2017, the submarine ARA San Juan sailed from Ushuaia, Southern end of Patagonia, to Mar del Plata, about 1,500 kilometers to the North. It carried out control tasks in the exclusive economic zone of Argentina, given the constant presence of fleets dedicated to illegal fishing in the area. here were 44 crew members on the submarine (43 men and one woman). Two days later, on November 15, the submarine reported its last known position, facing the Gulf of San Jorge (South of Puerto Madryn, in the province of Chubut), almost 235 miles from the coast, the outer limit of the Argentinian continental shelf. On November 17, the Argentine Navy reported that the contact with the vessel had been lost and operations aimed to locate the submarine have begun. Up to date nothing is known about the San Juan

Navigation and history of science: Ice, hunger and lead. Franklin’s lost expedition

The Franklin’s lost expedition was a British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin. They sailed from England in 1845 aboard two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror. The mission was to cross the last non-navigated section of the so-called Northwest Passage in the Arctic. After various vicissitudes and losses of men, the two ships were trapped in the ice in the Victoria Strait, near King William Island in the Canadian Arctic. The entire expedition, 129 men including Franklin, was lost. Infections, lead poisoning, malnutrition, scurvy, hypothermia and cannibalism ended the expeditio

Ferdinand VI of Spain and Barbara of Braganza, a history of love

Ferdinand VI, King of Spain between 1746 and 1759, was a monarch who gave Spain a long period of peace, justice and progress. Being a sickly King, he found in his wife, Barbara de Braganza, support and love to maintain a proper balance in his health thus allowing such advances for Spain. After his loveless childhood, he found in his wife the love of a mother that he had never had, the warmth of a wife and the discretion and common sense of a great Queen. The death of Doña Bárbara led the King to a year of pain and mental alterations that ended his life, bringing him to the encounter with his beloved, what he most longed for

Educación para la Salud y Educación Nutricional: el papel de las nuevas tecnologías

En el ámbito de la educación las nuevas tecnologías parecen jugar un papel relevante, habida cuenta del esfuerzo realizado por la mayoría de los países por estar a la altura de los tiempos actuales. De hecho, en un mundo globalizado, parece preocupar sobremanera la llamada brecha digital, capaz de dejar al margen del desarrollo a la mayoría de los habitantes del planeta. Cada vez parece más necesaria, a la luz de una fuerte demanda social, la inclusión curricular de materias como la educación para la salud y, dentro de ella, la educación nutricional. Sin embargo en los cuidados de salud no basta con disponer de fuentes de información cada vez más variadas y potentes. Es necesario modificar actitudes y conductas a fin de promo­ver la salud de las comunidades, y en ello no parece que las nuevas tecnologías estén resultando especialmente relevantes. Las técnicas de implicación y motivación resultan imprescindibles para modificar conductas, y para ello parece que la relación “presencial” con el educando resulta fundamental

Emotional Eating and Obesity

The first time that terms such as food addiction and addictive eating were mentioned was in 1956, in an article by T.G. Randolph. Recently, from a psychosomatic point of view, some authors have linked obesity and food addiction. Along with the concept of food addiction (derived from the similarities between the consumption of certain foods and “substance addictions”), a couple of questions seem to arise: What if it’s not just the particular food (the substance) that we are addicted to? Could it be that we are addicted to something else that makes us eat it? Thus, the concept of eating addiction has its own set of particulars. It brings the attention back to the individual and not the external substance (the food or ingredient). The focus on confronting the obesity problem should be moved away from the food itself (the addictive substance) to the person’s act of eating (the addictive behavior). Undoubtedly, there are many links between emotions and overweight/obesity. This chapter aims to review the current state of this field of study which is the emotional basis of obesity (at least a particular case of obesity and weight-related disorders)