cont. from

Ultimately, of course, the investigators hope that this research might suggest new possibilities for treatment.

"The long-term goal is to identify those aspects of brain-related function that influence development, behavior, and personality, and help us refine the search for potentially more effective pharmacotherapies," says Michael Strober, MD, professor of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also director of the Eating Disorders Program at the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA.

But while new medicines may help, Strober is quick to say he doubts anorexia and bulimia will ever be treated solely with medication. "More effective new medications will be important, but a combination of approaches is essential. The importance of psychotherapy should never be minimized."

Drug treatments based on the new research are probably a long way off. But in the meantime, study results may help improve current treatment approaches. "It potentially gives us a frame of reference for psychological treatment, allowing us to better target the therapeutic approaches that may help," says Strober.

Information about the inheritability of anorexia and bulimia will also be important in prevention. For example, it could help parents and doctors to intervene early with young people whose family history and psychological profile may put them at particularly high risk. Johnson says that studies have shown people at highest risk for anorexia or bulimia tend to have five personality traits:

• Obsessive
• Perfectionist
• Anxious
• Novelty-seeking
• Impulsive

Many experts also hope that the growing evidence for a genetic component to anorexia and bulimia will help make the case for better access to treatment of these disorders, and improved insurance coverage of such treatment.

"Whereas we have developing treatments for eating disorders that are more and more effective, the majority of people still struggle to access them," says Doug Bunnell, past president of the National Eating Disorders Association and clinical director of the Renfrew Center of Connecticut. "There aren't enough clinicians trained to do this, and not enough funding for a process of treatment that often takes a very long time."

"We need to understand the genetic influence involved in eating disorders, and its impact on psychological functioning," agrees Strober. "Bridging that gap of understanding will reduce stigma, inform the public, target the focus of therapy, and bring eating disorders rightly under the rubric of medical/psychological conditions as opposed to social phenomena."

next: How Anorexia and Bulimia Can Damage the Body

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Reviewed: 03/2006