It was long unknown how the brain function may be involved in bulimia nervosa, which is a severe eating disorder associated with episodic binge eating followed by extreme behaviours to avoid weight gain such as self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives or excessive exercise, untilnow.
A new study led by Guido Frank, assistant professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and Director,Developmental Brain Research Program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, studied thebrain response to a dopamine related reward-learning task in bulimic and healthy women.
Dopamine is an important brain chemical or neurotransmitter that helps regulate behaviour such as learning and motivation. Frank found that bulimic women had weakened response in brain regions that are part of the reward circuitry.
This response was related to the frequency of binge/purge episodes. Overeating and purging episodes thus could cause such a weaker response and set off a vicious cycle of altered brain function.
These findings are important for several reasons. First, they directly implicate the brain reward system and related dopamine function in this disorder. Second, bulimic behaviour appears to directly affect brain reward function and it is uncertain whether such alterations return to normal with recovery or not.
Third, brain dopamine could be a treatment target in bulimia nervosa using specific medication that targets those abnormalities.
“This is the first study that suggests that brain dopamine related reward circuitry, pathways that modulate our drive to eat, may have a role in bulimia nervosa. We found reduced activation in this network in the bulimic women, and the more often an individual had binge/purge episodes the less responsive was their brain.
That suggests that the eating disorder behaviour directly affects brain function. These findings are important since thebrain dopamine neurotransmitter system could be an important treatment target for bulimia nervosa,” said Frank
Sleep on your left side during pregnancy: New Zealand study has suggested that sleeping on the left side during late pregnancy could help women avoid still-birth risk.
Researchers from the University of Auckland compared 155 women who had late still-births with 310 who had healthy pregnancies. Sleeping on the right side or back doubled, but only to almost four in 1,000, the risk of left-sided sleepers.
Left-side lying aids blood flow to the baby, as the mother’s major blood vessels are unimpeded by a heavy womb.
“There are many factors which are linked to still-birth including obesity, increasing maternal age, ethnicity, congenital anomalies and placental conditions. A significant number are unexplained,” Daghni Rajasingam of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, as saying. “This small-scale study looks at another possible factor. However, more research is needed into sleep patterns before any firm conclusions over sleeping positions can be made.
reconstruction of
dilapidated Adyala road: The residents of Rawalpindi have demanded reconstruction of Adyala road of Potohar town that is in dilapidated condition and is causing traffic accidents.
The residents complained that the Adyala road turned into ruins, the big holes and craters in the road are big hurdle in smooth traffic flow.
The residents also said that construction of drainage near the road is also creating intense problems for them as the constructor throws remnant construction material on the road.
The residents of the area have demanded of the Chief Minister of Punjab to reconstruct the road and remove waste construction material from the road.
Illegal water connections common in cantonment area: Illegal water connections are in full swing in Cannt Board Chaklala while the department of water supply is playing role of silent spectator.
The residents of Cannt Board Chaklala complained against increasing number of illegal water connections in the area. The residents said that the staff of Water Supply is taking bribe for providing illegal water.
Zahid, resident of same locality complained that the illegal water connection holders have installed water motors, which is causing acute water shortage in the area.
The residents have demanded of high authorities to take strict and immediate action against the illegal water connection holders.
