1b0a66b7-7545-4438-8279-eb0400ecfde4
title
Association between the  brain-derived neurotrophic factor   196G/A  polymorphism and eating disorders.
ae44951c-9359-41cb-ab82-b705785c6387
abstract
Several lines of evidence suggest that genetic factors might contribute to the pathogenesis of eating disorders and that  brain-derived neurotrophic factor  ( BDNF ) plays a role in the pathophysiology of eating disorders. To investigate the role of the  BDNF  gene in the susceptibility to eating disorders, we analyzed the  BDNF   196G/A  gene polymorphism in female patients with eating disorders and female normal controls. The difference in the genotype frequency between patients (n = 198) and normal controls (n = 222) was statistically significant (P = 0.029). Interestingly, a significant (P = 0.015) difference in the genotype frequency between normal controls and bulimia nervosa patients (n = 101) with binge-purging type was detected. This study suggests that the  BDNF   196G/A  gene polymorphism might be associated with a susceptibility to eating disorders.Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.