Adult Inpatient Treatment for Longstanding Eating Disorders

Woman battling Longstanding Eating Disorders and Addiction It is important to assert, before beginning this article, that recovery from an eating disorder is absolutely possible. That said, it does not come easily and, on some occasions, does not come quickly. While the hope is that an individual’s disordered eating patterns are recognized and treated early and that interventions and treatments lead to [...]
Read More

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages May Be Potentially Addictive

Man drinking sugar-sweetened beverages Dr. Mark Gold’s Research You Can Use Young people enjoy and consume the most significant amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages than any other age group in the U.S. As a consequence, they have also experienced the most substantial associated gains in obesity levels, which quadrupled over the course of past several decades. However, a recent study [...]
Read More

Practical Neurobiology for Clinicians: Eating Disorder Diagnoses & Neurology – Part VI

environmental factors of Eating Disorders When looking at individuals with bulimia, there is more dopamine drive in this reward chemical. As such, you can’t only focus on eating. You have to also watch for drug and alcohol or sexual addiction, shoplifting, or gambling. These individuals just want to feel better as soon as possible. As such, I treat a lot [...]
Read More

Practical Neurobiology for Clinicians: Eating Disorder Diagnoses & Neurology – Part V

image of Genetics of Eating Disorders in the brain It is only in the last 20 years that the idea of anorexia as a biologic controlled genetic mental illness has come about. For so long, treatment focused on the need for control, environment, parents, etc. that was causing these issues. It is only recently that we have begun to study the neurobiology of eating disorders. [...]
Read More

Nutritional Status Affects Cortical Folding: Lessons Learned From Anorexia Nervosa

sketch of the human brain and Cortical Folding Dr. Mark Gold’s Research You Can Use Cortical folding in the human brain is complex and variable among individuals. It may also reflect pathological functioning with certain abnormalities associated in some developmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, emerging as an early biomarker in imaging genetics studies. Anorexia nervosa, a severe eating disorder, is also linked to substantial [...]
Read More

Practical Neurobiology for Clinicians: Eating Disorder Diagnoses & Neurology – Part IV

Image of brain and Eating Disorder Brain Traits As we learn more about brain traits that predispose people to eating disorders, people want to know, “what traits make my brain more at risk?” Unfortunately, there is little good science focused on what kind of brain or brain traits put an individual at risk for an eating disorder. This is not due to there being [...]
Read More

Practical Neurobiology for Clinicians: Eating Disorder Diagnoses & Neurology – Part III

Image of brain on how to change the Eating Disorder Cycle As a child psychiatrist, I don’t often get a lot of biological information. I’ll see if someone has anorexia by how their body looks, whether or not they are malnourished, etc. However, the amount of information I’m getting about how their brain works, and therefore, which medicines might work, is pretty minimal. Genetic information also [...]
Read More

Practical Neurobiology for Clinicians: Eating Disorder Diagnoses & Neurology – Part II

Neurons setting off the danger warning due to health anxiety The job that this DSM-5 provides is to help answer the question of whether or not an individual meets the criterion and may have an eating disorder. However, there is a large grey area. For example, an individual may have relatively low weight without an eating disorder, as there can be other explanations for this. Research Domain [...]
Read More

Practical Neurobiology for Clinicians: Eating Disorder Diagnoses & Neurology – Part I

Image of brain the neurobiology of Eating Disorder Diagnoses I am the Medical Director here at Laureate Eating Disorders Program. I’ve been here for almost 15 years now, and I really enjoy getting the ability to work with patients both inpatient and outpatient. I am FBT trained and run a residential program. I also do research, so, I have experience with eating disorders from all angles. I [...]
Read More