Binge and Emotional Eating in obese subjects seeking weight loss treatment

Objective: Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is highly prevalent among individuals seeking weight loss treatment. Considering the possible trigger factors for BED, different studies focused on the role of emotional eating. The present study compared threshold, subthreshold BED, and subjects without BED in a population of overweight/obese individuals seeking weight loss treatment, considering the anamnesis, the eating disorder specific and general psychopathology, the organic and psychiatric comorbidity, the emotional eating as a trigger factor for binge eating, and the quality of life. Design: cross-sectional survey.Subjects: Four hundred thirty eight overweight subjects seeking weight loss treatment have been enrolled in the study. Measurements: Subjects have been evaluated by means of a clinical interview (SCID I) and different self-reported questionnaires (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, Binge Eating Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Spielberg's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Symptom Checklist 90, Emotional Eating Scale, and Obesity Related Well-Being questionnaire). Results: One hundred and five subjects (24% of the sample) fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria of lifetime BED, 146 (33.3%) fulfilled the criteria of lifetime subthreshold BED, and 187 (42.7%) subjects were diagnosed overweight non-BED. No correlations between the binges frequencies and the overweight levels were found. All the three groups showed high psychiatric comorbidities, and the three groups significantly differed in terms of emotional eating, which was positively correlated to the binge eating frequencies. Conclusions: Threshold and subthreshold BED deserve a careful psychopathological investigation and emotional eating seems to play a key role as trigger factor for binge eating. Obesity is associated with a high psychiatric comorbidity and a low quality of life, independently from the specific and general eating disorder psychopathology

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Zonisamide Combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Binge Eating Disorder A One-year Follow-up Study

Objective. Binge eating disorder is a serious, prevalent eating disorder that is associated with overweight. Zonisamide is an antiepileptic drug that can promote weight loss. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of zonisamide as augmentation to individual cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of binge eating disorder patients. Design: controlled open study. Participants: Twenty four threshold and subthreshold binge eating disorder patients were enrolled in the cognitive behavioral therapy treatment group, and 28 patients in the cognitive behavioral therapy plus zonisamide group. Measurements: At the beginning (T0), at the end (T1) of treatment, and one year after the end of treatment (T2), body mass index was measured and Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire, Binge Eating Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered. Results. At T1 the cognitive behavioral therapy plus zonisamide group showed a higher mean reduction of body mass index, Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, and Binge Eating Scale scores. At T2, the cognitive behavior therapy group regained weight, while the cognitive behavioral therapy plus zonisamide group reduced their body mass and showed a higher reduction in binge eating frequency and Binge Eating Scale, Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire Restraint, and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory scores. Conclusion. The zonisamide augmentation to individual cognitive behavior therapy can improve the treatment of binge eating disorder patients, reducing body weight and the number of binge eating episodes. These results are maintained one year after the end of treatment