Latest news with #BulimiaNervosa
Mercury
01-08-2025
- Health
- Mercury
Taking on the deadliest illnesses no one is talking about
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Eating disorders are among the deadliest mental health disorders Prevalence among kids 10-19 has almost doubled in last decade Eating disorders cost Australia $67 billion every year in economic and wellbeing losses We've all had those thoughts. Maybe I should cut down on the beers. I guess I should go for walk. I should probably eat better. Maybe I could stand to lose a little extra weight here and there. Body dissatisfaction is a pretty universal experience, but for many it's a temporary thought, a passing moment of discomfort quickly forgotten. For too many people, especially young people, those uncomfortable, niggling thoughts have become a daily mantra they can't ignore – and it's almost certainly killing them. A matter of life and death Eating disorders are widely acknowledged as the deadliest psychological issues a person can be diagnosed with. That fact is further complicated by comorbidity; a startling 90% of people with eating disorders also have depression, with two thirds simultaneously suffering from an anxiety disorder. While that combination is deadly on its own – someone with Anorexia Nervosa is 18-times more likely to die by suicide, and those with Bulimia Nervosa seven-times more likely – the leading cause of death among people with severe eating disorders is cardiovascular damage. The compulsions that come with eating disorders starve the body of nutrients and energy, damaging everything from the heart and bones to the digestive and immune systems. Even worse, the growing epidemic of eating disorders is becoming entrenched in schools and on social media, affecting younger and younger people during vulnerable periods of social and physical growth. 'Eating disorders among children and young people aged 10-19 has almost doubled in the last decade,' said Dr Jim Hungerford, CEO of eating disorder not-for-profit Butterfly. 'Every month 100 people die from, and 10,000 develop, an eating disorder, and it is critical that the government invest to stop this emerging crisis in eating disorders.' A national crisis Deloitte's report, Paying the Price, underscores the heavy toll eating disorders take not just on individuals and families, but on our wider society, too. Eating disorders cost Australia $67 billion every year in economic and wellbeing losses. In February, Minister for Health Mark Butler called eating disorders 'a national crisis' – the federal government has earmarked $70 million in grants for programs to research and treat them. At the moment, treatment for eating disorders is almost entirely based on psychological interventions like cognitive behavioural therapy, family therapy, or more structured and specialised treatments like the Maudsley model of anorexia treatment for adults (MANTRA). These treatments often have good outcomes; some 60% of anorexia nervosa patients receiving enhanced CBT treatments recover to a healthy weight. Unfortunately, there are few alternatives for the 40% of patients that don't respond well to psychological intervention. There are currently no approved pharmacological treatment options at all, although some doctors treat their patients off-label with drugs approved for other mental health conditions. More direct types of intervention are quite recent – researchers are exploring everything from deep brain stimulation to hormone therapies and psychedelics like ketamine or psilocybin. It's a new frontier of medicine, led almost entirely by a handful of intrepid pioneers scattered across the globe. Hitting reset on neural pathways Interest in psychedelic compounds as a basis for psychological treatment has gained a lot of attention in recent years. Medicinal compounds based on marijuana, MDMA, ketamine and psilocybin or psilocin from magic mushrooms have been touted as miracle drugs set to revolutionise the treatment of mental health disorders. While we haven't obtained those lofty goals just yet, psychedelic compounds are already showing an incredible amount of promise in mental health disorders resistant to traditional psychological or medical intervention. The research is still thin on the ground, but it's thought these compounds have a 'resetting' effect on neurological pathways, disrupting habitual ingrained behaviours and encouraging new connections between different regions of the brain. You can imagine them a bit like a cleansing flood, washing away the old, worn and rutted pathways of the brain and offering a chance to forge new ones in their place. Companies such as Tryptamine Therapeutics (ASX:TYP) are working to transform these powerful compounds – once the realm of medicine men and shamans – into something the TGA or FDA can get behind. TYP is developing two such medicines; an intravenous (IV) infused synthetic psilocin compound, and an oral synthetic psilocybin compound, both designed to offer precise dosing options without adverse effects. The company's main focuses are binge eating disorder (BED) and illnesses that induce chronic pain like fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome. BED is the most common eating disorder in the US and the second most common in Australia, representing a high unmet need. Tryptamine is at the clinical assessment stage with its TRP-8803 IV infusion, currently engaged in a safety and efficacy trial in partnership with Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. The company is dosing 12 adult patients suffering from BED with its TRP treatment alongside simultaneous psychotherapy sessions. The oral version of the drug has already shown promise in treating BED, reducing daily binge eating episodes by an average of 80.4% in a phase II trial with the University of Florida. All patients experienced a reduction in episodes of at least 60% from baseline, with improvements in anxiety and depression scores as well. While the open-label study had a limited patient population with only five participants, it's nonetheless a very promising start. Overcoming psychedelic adverse effects One of the challenges in bringing psychedelic medicines to market is also a strength: the altered cognitive state they induce in patients. Both Tryptamine Therapeutics and its Israeli brethren Shortwave Life Sciences are working to unlock the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics while side-stepping the more intense adverse effects they can illicit in people. They're attempting to take the guesswork out of dosage and adverse impact by producing synthetic versions of psilocin and psilocybin compounds that are highly controlled, offering more predictable outcomes. Shortwave is focused mostly on Anorexia Nervosa, one of the deadliest eating disorders. The company is developing an oral drug combining psilocybin with a beta carboline, a type of tryptamine compound associated with neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine that directly influence mood. Shortwave is still in the pre-clinical stages with its drug combination, but early studies are indicating a good safety profile and active metabolisation. The company has partnered with the Sheba Medical Centre, considered a leading medical institution and eating disorder centre in Israel, to conduct an investigator-initiated, open-label, phase II study. The trial will investigate the safety and feasibility of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of anorexia nervosa, the first of its kind in Israel. Taking a molecular approach Not all pharmacological interventions being developed for eating disorders are based on psychedelics, but they share a distinct emphasis on resetting or rewiring disordered neurological pathways. Courage Therapeutics, a spinout of the University of Michigan, has just secured US$7.8 million to advance two drug development programs designed to tackle obesity and restrictive eating disorders. Head researcher Roger Cone identified two proteins thought to play a part in regulating energy balance and food intake – melanocortin 3 receptor and melanocortin 4 receptor (MC3R and MC4R). Courage Therapeutics is focusing on leveraging these proteins to directly hack into neurological circuits in the hypothalamus. Also at the pre-clinical stage, animal studies in mammals have shown great promise in influencing feeding behaviours and weight management. A rat animal model using CRISPR technology to induce MC3R deficiency showed a significant reduction in both body weight and decreased food intake, while those with an MC4R deficiency increased food intake and gained body weight compared to the control group. A long path ahead While research into pharmacological interventions for eating disorders is still in very early stages, the results so far have been incredibly encouraging. The science seems sound, but proving these treatments are not only effective but safe and predictable will take years of clinical trials and testing. The Butterfly Foundation is calling for urgent investment in eating disorder research as the number of people suffering from them rises year by year. 'We were incredibly disappointed that there was zero new funding for eating disorder prevention or treatment in the Australian government's 2025-26 budget announcement on March 25,' Dr Hungerford said, 'nor in the budget response from the Coalition.' 'It is clear from latest research that people in Australia want to know why. Without government investment in prevention, the consequences will be catastrophic. 'The time for talk is over, the time for action for the more than 1 million people living with an eating disorder is now.' At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Tryptamine Therapeutics is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. Originally published as Disorder to go: Tackling the deadliest psychological illnesses no one is talking about
Khaleej Times
27-02-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Dubai: Do you find yourself eating away your feelings?
Food isn't just fuel. It's social. It's cultural. It's emotional. In the Gulf region — especially in Dubai — dining out is more than a habit; it's a lifestyle where indulgence is the norm. Food frames social interactions in the workplace and in our personal lives. Swanky business lunches, brunches, endless new restaurant openings, and viral food trends make food less about hunger and necessity and more about eating for the experience. Food also releases dopamine, the brain's feel-good chemical. It's why eating something we enjoy can instantly lift our mood. 'Everyone emotionally eats sometimes,' says Dr Hollie Shannon, clinical psychologist at Sage Clinics. 'It's normal to enjoy food for comfort or celebration.' What constitutes 'normal' eating is vastly complex. But experts agree that healthy eating habits include flexibility — eating for pleasure, adjusting intake based on activity levels, and sometimes indulging just because you want to. Emotional eating, on the other hand, is when food becomes a coping mechanism rather than a choice. 'When we eat in response to stress, anxiety, loneliness or boredom without actual physical hunger that's emotional eating,' Dr Shannon explained. 'It's a way to soothe emotional or psychological discomfort, rather than engage in social experiences and fuel the body. 'If food becomes the primary way to manage emotions, it can turn into a problematic cycle — momentary relief followed by guilt, shame, or loss of control,' she explained. Like other potentially harmful coping mechanisms, emotional eating can serve as both a distraction and a numbing tool for uncomfortable feelings,' she said. 'It reduces physiological arousal, meaning it literally calms the nervous system. That's why some people might reach for food when they're feeling overwhelmed.' Not everyone who eats emotionally has an eating disorder, but unchecked emotional eating can spiral into something more serious, such as Binge Eating Disorder (BED) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN).'The warning signs are when eating patterns start interfering with daily life,' said Dr Shannon. 'If someone feels out of control, preoccupied with food, or is using it as their only way to manage stress, that's a red flag.' Another key sign? Guilt. 'If someone feels a deep sense of shame after eating, or they try to 'compensate' with restrictive dieting or excessive exercise, it's time to re-evaluate their relationship with food and with themselves,' she said. Dr Shannon, who has recently moved to Dubai, has noticed the paradox being in the city has on people's relationship with stress, food and body image. 'Like many of the world's best cities, Dubai has an amazing food culture,' Dr Shannon noted. 'However, for some people, food can become an obsession. Extravagant menus and viral food trends can create a sense of pressure to 'try the latest' and anxiety about 'missing out.'' In parallel, the city operates at a fast-pace and is obsessed with hustle culture, fitness and aesthetics. 'Everyday life in a busy city undeniably brings a certain level of stress. At the same time, people are bombarded with messages about body ideals — stay fit, look perfect, don't gain weight,' she added. 'I can see how, for many, this push-and-pull leads to guilt, restrictive dieting, and then overeating or bingeing, reinforcing a cycle of emotional eating.' For those struggling, self-awareness is the first step. 'Recognising the pattern is key,' she emphasises. 'Once you do, you can start shifting towards healthier ways to manage emotions without relying on food.' Dr Shannon suggested several practical strategies for breaking the habit of emotional eating. A simple strategy is to pause before eating and ask yourself: Am I actually hungry, or am I feeling stressed, anxious, or emotional? Recognising these cues can help distinguish between physical and emotional hunger. Practising mindful eating is another approach. When you eat, don't do anything other than that: slow down, remove distractions, and pay attention to how food tastes, smells, and feels. This can enhance control over eating habits and make you more attuned to hunger cues. Expanding coping strategies beyond food is crucial, whether through movement, journalling, deep breathing, or social connection. Lastly, she warns against using restrictive dieting as a quick fix, as it often backfires and fails to address the root causes behind emotional eating. Food and emotions are deeply linked, but food shouldn't be the only coping tool. 'Enjoying food is normal,' said Dr Shannon. 'Recognising patterns, developing alternative coping strategies, and fostering balance can help prevent emotional eating from becoming harmful.'
