Self-destructiveness and serotonin function in bulimia nervosa
by
Steiger H, Koerner N, Engelberg MJ,
Israel M, Ng Ying Kin NM, Young SN.
Eating Disorders Program,
Douglas Hospital, Quebec,
Verdun, Canada.
stehow@douglas.mcgill.ca
Psychiatry Res 2001 Aug 5;103(1):15-26

ABSTRACT

Studies have linked bulimia nervosa (BN) to alterations in brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine: 5-HT) activity and to heightened propensity for parasuicidality and self-injuriousness. The coincidence of self-destructiveness and 5-HT abnormality in BN is of interest, given documentation (in various populations) of an inverse association between 5-HT activity and potential for self-harm. The present study examined the connection between 5-HT status and self-destructiveness in BN. Structured interviews and self-report questionnaires were used to assess 40 bulimic and 21 normal-eater women for: (a) history of parasuicidal or self-injurious acts; and (b) mood and impulse-regulation problems. We then applied tests, presumed to reflect 5-HT function, of serial prolactin (PRL) and cortisol (CORT) responses after oral administration of the partial 5-HT agonist, meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP). Relative to non-bulimic women, bulimic women (on average) showed blunting of PRL and CORT following m-CPP. The blunting of neuroendocrine responses was, however, most remarkable in bulimic women with a history of self-destructiveness. These findings suggest that some serotonergic anomalies reported in BN sufferers (i.e. reduced neuroendocrine response after m-CPP) may be most characteristic of individuals in the population showing clear-cut self-destructive potential.

Bulimia
Suicide
Serotonin
Slimming drugs
Eating disorders
Body dysmorphic disorder
Fluvoxamine for depression
Fluvoxamine and endorphins
Fluvoxamine for social phobia
Treatment of body dysmorphic disorder
Fluvoxamine for depression and anxiety

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