Biomedical subjects

Detlev O Nutzinger

Publications and source records attributed to Detlev O Nutzinger.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Leptin and body weight regulation in patients with anorexia nervosa before and during weight recovery.

BACKGROUND: Leptin has been considered a starvation hormone, but its role in malnourished patients is unknown. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to characterize the role of leptin in metabolic adaptation in women with anorexia nervosa (AN). DESIGN: In a cross-sectional study, 57 women with AN [mean (+/-SD) body mass index (kg/m(2)) on admission: 15.2 +/- 1.5] were compared with 49 healthy, normal-weight women (mean body mass index: 22.3 +/- 2.3). Nineteen patients were reinvestigated during weight gain 43 and 84 d after baseline. We measured serum concentrations of leptin, soluble leptin receptor, insulin, ghrelin, and thyroid hormones [thyrotropin, triiodothyronine (T(3)), and thyroxine]; fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM); resting energy expenditure (REE); energy intake; and eating behavior. RESULTS: Compared with values in the control women, leptin, T(3), REE, FM, and FFM were lower in the women with AN, but the leptin secretion rate was not significantly different. Leptin correlated with FM (r = 0.83, P < 0.001), T(3) (r = 0.68, P < 0.001), respiratory quotient (r = -0.47, P < 0.001), and REE (r = 0.58, P < 0.001). The association with REE weakened after adjustment for FFM and disappeared after further adjustment for T(3). Hunger and appetite had positive, whereas satiety and restraint had negative, associations with leptin. During weight gain (9.0 +/- 3.3 kg in 84 d), serum leptin and the leptin secretion rate increased. Changes in leptin secretion were associated with energy intake and REE. The initial changes in the leptin secretion rate (ie, the difference between baseline and 43 d) were negatively associated with changes in body weight from 43 to 84 d. CONCLUSIONS: Leptin contributes to metabolic adaptation in women with AN. The leptin response is associated with weight gain.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Dissociated conditional-associative learning in anorexia nervosa.

This study assessed the acquisition of conditional-associations using neutral and individually threatening nouns in 16 females with anorexia nervosa (AN), 16 females with bulimia nervosa (BN) and 16 normal controls (NC). Groups did not differ in terms of age, sex, handedness, depression, intelligence, verbal memory and verbal fluency measures. Furthermore, patients and controls were widely comparable on any test assessing neuropsychological functioning. In the conditional-associative learning (CAL) task, anorexic patients displayed an impaired performance with neutral material but not with individually threatening material. Such a deficit was not evident in bulimics or in normal controls. Only anorexics showed a dissociation in the CAL of material with different emotional valence. These findings support the assumptions from functional neuroimaging investigations in AN and justify the assignment of this disorder to the obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Specificity of conditional associative-learning deficits in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and non-OCD anxiety disorders.

The acquisition of conditional associations using neutral and disease-related nouns was studied in 15 inpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 15 inpatients with non-OCD anxiety disorders and 15 chronic pain inpatients. Patients were comparable with respect to age, sex, depression, intelligence, executive functions, verbal and spatial memory, visuoconstructive functions, and handedness. The investigation took place in the diagnostic phase prior to the patient's beginning a standardized behavioral treatment program. It was hypothesized that anxiety patients acquired disease-related material faster than pain patients but that only OCD patients show inferior performance with respect to neutral stimuli. Results show that the three patient groups were widely comparable concerning neuropsychological background measures and showed equivalent results with respect to disease-related stimuli. But OCD patients yielded an inferior degree of performance when neutral stimuli were used whereas non-OCD anxiety disorder and pain patients displayed an equivalent degree of performance both for neutral and disease-related material, respectively. Results are discussed within the framework of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Self-injurious behavior in women with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed lifetime and 6-month occurrence and phenomenology of self-injurious behavior in patients with eating disorders. METHOD: Women (N=376) in inpatient treatment for an eating disorder (anorexia: N=119, bulimia: N=137, eating disorder not otherwise specified: N=120) were assessed for self-injurious behavior and completed the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire, the Dissociative Experience Scale, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. RESULTS: The lifetime rate of self-injurious behavior occurrence was 34.6%, with the highest rates found in subjects with eating disorder not otherwise specified (35.8%) and bulimia (34.3%); the 6-month rate of self-injurious behavior occurrence was 21.3%. Multivariate comparisons were computed for the factors of self-injurious behavior and diagnostic subgroup: self-injuring patients reported a significantly higher number of traumatic events, showed significantly higher dissociation scores, and exhibited significantly more obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors. Bulimic patients showed significantly higher impulsivity scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study strongly supports the assumption that patients with eating disorders are at risk for self-injurious behavior and points to the necessity of a routine screening for self-injurious behavior as well as the development of a standardized questionnaire. Group comparisons point to the relevance of traumatic experiences and comorbid dissociative phenomenology.

Adult↗