Is childhood trauma associated with lifetime suicide attempts in women with bulimia nervosa?

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between specific forms of childhood abuse and neglect with lifetime suicide attempts in women with bulimia nervosa (BN)

The role of interpersonal personality traits and reassurance seeking in eating disorder symptoms and depressive symptoms among women with bulimia nervosa

The role of interpersonal factors has been proposed in various models of eating disorder (ED) psychopathology and treatment. We examined the independent and interactive contributions of two interpersonal-focused personality traits (i.e., social avoidance and insecure attachment) and reassurance seeking in relation to global ED psychopathology and depressive symptoms among women with bulimia nervosa (BN)

Functional interaction between Lypd6 and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) affect multiple physiological functions in the brain and their functions are modulated by regulatory proteins of the Lynx family. Here, we report for the first time a direct interaction of the Lynx protein LY6/PLAUR domain‐containing 6 (Lypd6) with nAChRs in human brain extracts, identifying Lypd6 as a novel regulator of nAChR function. Using protein cross‐linking and affinity purification from human temporal cortical extracts, we demonstrate that Lypd6 is a synaptically enriched membrane‐bound protein that binds to multiple nAChR subtypes in the human brain. Additionally, soluble recombinant Lypd6 protein attenuates nicotine‐induced hippocampal inward currents in rat brain slices and decreases nicotine‐induced extracellular signal‐regulated kinase phosphorylation in PC12 cells, suggesting that binding of Lypd6 is sufficient to inhibit nAChR‐mediated intracellular signaling. We further show that perinatal nicotine exposure in rats (4 mg/kg/day through minipumps to dams from embryonic day 7 to post‐natal day 21) significantly increases Lypd6 protein levels in the hippocampus in adulthood, which did not occur after exposure to nicotine in adulthood only. Our findings suggest that Lypd6 is a versatile inhibitor of cholinergic signaling in the brain, and that Lypd6 is dysregulated by nicotine exposure during early development. [Image: see text] Regulatory proteins of the Lynx family modulate the function of nicotinic receptors (nAChRs). We report for the first time that the Lynx protein Lypd6 binds to nAChRs in human brain extracts, and that recombinant Lypd6 decreases nicotine‐induced ERK phosphorylation and attenuates nicotine‐induced hippocampal inward currents. Our findings suggest that Lypd6 is a versatile inhibitor of cholinergic signaling in the brain

Self‐weighing behavior in individuals with eating disorders

ObjectiveTo describe the frequency of self-weighing and reactions to prescribed weekly weighing among individuals with eating disorder (ED) diagnoses, and to compare individuals weighing more or less frequently on mass index (BMI) and the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) subscales.MethodBaseline EDE and demographics from five studies (N = 758).ResultsSelf-weighing was most frequent among individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), followed by those with bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). On average, participants reacted moderately negative to prescribed weekly weighing. No relationship between weighing frequency and BMI was evident in any sample. There was indication of greater pathology (i.e., restraint, shape concern, weight concern, global) in AN with more frequent weighing. In BN, mixed evidence emerged to support a relationship between more frequent weighing and higher shape concern, weight concern, and global score. In BED, higher restraint was found in those who weighed versus those who did not.DiscussionWeighing frequency in each eating disorder (ED) sample was to some extent associated with greater ED severity, but not BMI. Future research should examine relationships between self-weighing, reactions to changing weighing frequency, and ED symptomatology in both ED and non-ED groups to understand the impact of self-weighing in heterogeneous populations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2016; 49:817-821)

Therapeutic alliance in a randomized clinical trial for bulimia nervosa.

This study examined the temporal relation between therapeutic alliance and outcome in two treatments for bulimia nervosa (BN)

Increased RPA1 gene dosage affects genomic stability potentially contributing to 17p13.3 duplication syndrome

A novel microduplication syndrome involving various-sized contiguous duplications in 17p13.3 has recently been described, suggesting that increased copy number of genes in 17p13.3, particularly PAFAH1B1, is associated with clinical features including facial dysmorphism, developmental delay, and autism spectrum disorder. We have previously shown that patient-derived cell lines from individuals with haploinsufficiency of RPA1, a gene within 17p13.3, exhibit an impaired ATR-dependent DNA damage response (DDR). Here, we show that cell lines from patients with duplications specifically incorporating RPA1 exhibit a different although characteristic spectrum of DDR defects including abnormal S phase distribution, attenuated DNA double strand break (DSB)-induced RAD51 chromatin retention, elevated genomic instability, and increased sensitivity to DNA damaging agents. Using controlled conditional over-expression of RPA1 in a human model cell system, we also see attenuated DSB-induced RAD51 chromatin retention. Furthermore, we find that transient over-expression of RPA1 can impact on homologous recombination (HR) pathways following DSB formation, favouring engagement in aberrant forms of recombination and repair. Our data identifies unanticipated defects in the DDR associated with duplications in 17p13.3 in humans involving modest RPA1 over-expression

Hard exercise, affect lability, and personality among individuals with bulimia nervosa

The current study explores the personality traits of compulsivity (e.g., sense of orderliness and duty to perform tasks completely) and restricted expression (e.g., emotion expression difficulties) as potential moderators of the relation between affect lability and frequency of hard exercise episodes in a sample of individuals with bulimic pathology. Participants were 204 adult females recruited in five Midwestern cities who met criteria for threshold or subthreshold bulimia nervosa (BN). Compulsivity was found to significantly moderate the relation between affect lability and number of hard exercise episodes over the past 28 days, such that among those with high compulsivity, level of affect lability was associated with the number of hard exercise episodes; whereas, among those with low compulsivity, affect lability was not associated with the number of hard exercise episodes. The same pattern of findings emerged for restricted expression; however, this finding approached, but did not reach statistical significance. As such, it appears that affect lability is differentially related to hard exercise among individuals with BN depending upon the level of compulsivity and, to a more limited extent, restricted expression. These results suggest that, for individuals with BN with either compulsivity or restricted expression, focusing treatment on increasing flexibility and/or verbal expression of emotions may help them in the context of intense, fluctuating affect

Subjective and objective binge eating in relation to eating disorder symptomatology, negative affect, and personality dimensions

The current study explored the clinical meaningfulness of distinguishing subjective (SBE) from objective binge eating (OBE) among individuals with threshold/subthreshold bulimia nervosa (BN). We examined relations between OBEs and SBEs and eating disorder symptoms, negative affect, and personality dimensions using both a group comparison and a continuous approach

Exercise caution: Over-exercise is associated with suicidality among individuals with disordered eating

We conducted four studies to examine the relationship between over-exercise and suicidality. Study 1 investigated whether over-exercise predicted suicidal behavior after controlling for other eating disorder behaviors in a patient sample of 204 women (144 with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) Bulimia Nervosa [BN]). Study 2 tested the prospective association between over-exercise and acquired capability for suicide (ACS) in a sample of 171 college students followed for 3–4 weeks. Study 3 investigated whether pain insensitivity accounted for the relationship between over-exercise and ACS in a new sample of 467 college students. Study 4 tested whether ACS accounted for the relationship between over-exercise and suicidal behavior in a sample of 512 college students. In Study 1, after controlling for key covariates, over-exercise was the only disordered eating variable that maintained a significant relationship with suicidal behavior. In Study 2, Time 1 over-exercise was the only disordered eating behavior that was associated with Time 2 ACS. In Study 3, pain insensitivity accounted for the relationship between over-exercise and ACS. In Study 4, ACS accounted for the relationship between over-exercise and suicidal behavior. Over-exercise appears to be associated with suicidal behavior, an association accounted for by pain insensitivity and the acquired capability for suicide; notably, this association was found across a series of four studies with different populations