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Oxytocin for Eating Disorders

Oxytocin May Remedy Eating Disorders

Eating disordersEating disorders have caused lots of anxiety and even depression to many people. Eating disorders are characterized by an abnormal attitude towards food that causes someone to change their eating habits and behavior. Most people who are too keen on their weight and shape do make unhealthy eating choices which in the long run will pose a health threat to them. Here are examples of eating disorders that you should be aware of;

Anorexia nervosa – this is characterized by an individual’s endless pursuit to keep his or her weight as low as possible. Most people will either starve themselves or exercise too much to achieve this goal.

Bulimia – when someone tries to control their weight by binge eating and then deliberately being sick or using laxatives (medication to help empty their bowels)

Binge eating – Binge eating is characterized by a feeling of compulsion to overeat.

Helping people who suffer from eating disorders has never been easy as it does not only involve dealing with the symptoms but requires a total lifestyle change. It takes lots of professional counseling sessions to help a person through the journey of self-awareness and acceptance that is crucial in the healing of anybody suffering from eating disorders. However there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel to those struggling with eating disorder after scientists have discovered that a hormone known as oxytocin can be helpful in treatment of eating disorders, specifically Anorexia nervosa.

A new study done by a team of British and Korean scientists has reported that oxytocin, also known to many people as the ‘love hormone’, could provide a new treatment for anorexia nervosa.

The study, published in March, 2014 found that oxytocin alters anorexic patients’ tendencies to fixate on images of high calorie foods, and larger body shape. Those who are anoxic have the tendencies of being mired by ugly thoughts of overweight. Before this research the group had done an earlier research that oxytocin changed patients’ responses to angry and disgusted faces.

This disorder; Anorexia nervosa is a serious catastrophe that affects approximately 1 in 150 teenage girls in the UK and is one of leading causes of mental health related deaths, both through physical complications and suicide. This disorder does not only present its victims with food problems, body and shape issues but also affects how people relate in the social circles. People who are suffering from this disorder do exhibit anxiety and hypersensitivity to negative emotions.

“Patients with anorexia have a range of social difficulties which often start in their early teenage years, before the onset of the illness. These social problems, which can result in isolation, may be important in understanding both the onset and maintenance of anorexia. By using oxytocin as a potential treatment for anorexia, we are focusing on some of these underlying problems we see in patients. “Says Professor Janet Treasure from the Eating Disorders Section in the Department of Psychological Medicine at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry and senior author on both studies.

As stated in an introductory article to oxytocin: Oxytocin is a hormone released naturally during bonding, including sex, childbirth and breastfeeding. As a synthesized product, it has been tested as a treatment for many psychiatric disorders, and has been shown to have benefits in lowering social anxiety in people with autism. It helps improve relationships and settle problems with associated with social disorders.

The first Test

In this study, the first of its king on this issue, 31 patients with anorexia and 33 healthy controls were given either a dose of oxytocin, delivered via nasal spray, or a placebo. The participants were then asked to look at sequences of images relating to foods some of which were in calories while others had low calories, body shape (fat and thin), and weight (scales). Once the images flashed on screen, the researchers measured how quickly participants identified the images. If they had a tendency to focus on the negative images, they would identify them more rapidly. The test was done before and after taking oxytocin or placebo.

After taking oxytocin, patients with anorexia reduced their focus on images of food and fat body parts. The effect of oxytocin was particularly strong in patients with anorexia who had greater communication problems. The findings of this study were published in Psychoneuroendocrinology.

The second Test

After the first phase of the test, the second test was done and it involved the same participants, A similar test was done, before and after oxytocin or placebo, but this time the stimuli was changed as it involved testing the participants’ reactions to facial expressions, such as anger, disgust or happiness unlike in the first phase where it involved images of food, body and weights. After taking a dose of oxytocin, patients with anorexia were less likely to focus on the ‘disgust’ faces. They were also less likely to avoid looking at angry faces, and became simply vigilant to them. The findings of this study were published in PLOS ONE.

Eating disorder“Our research shows that oxytocin reduces patients’ unconscious tendencies to focus on food, body shape, and negative emotions such as disgust. There is currently a lack of effective pharmacological treatments for anorexia. Our research adds important evidence to the increasing literature on oxytocin treatments for mental illnesses, and hints at the advent of a novel, ground-breaking treatment option for patients with anorexia.” says Prof Youl-Ri Kim, from Inje University in Seoul, South Korea and lead author on both studies.

“This is early stage research with a small number of participants, but it’s hugely exciting to see the potential this treatment could have. We need much larger trials, on more diverse populations, before we can start to make a difference to how patients are treated.” adds, Prof Treasure.

With ongoing research new and even better treatments will be discovered and fighting eating disorders will be a lot easier. These problems need to be treated effectively through integrative medicine. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert at this. Call her on (843) 213-1480 for help.

Oxytocin May Remedy Eating Disorders

 

 

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Substance Abuse Promotes Violence Against Women

Women with Substance Abuse Problems Exposed to Violence Against Women by Men

substance abuseWomen are type vulnerable lot. They are the victims of most violence against women cases that happen in homes and even outside home in clubs and public places. However when a woman engages in substance abuse she even become more vulnerable. It is not strange to see a woman who has got drunk being dragged away by men who do not even know her, in most cases women are raped when they are drunk by people who are closest to them. In this society women who have become dependent on alcohol are an easy prey to men who insult and use them for all their benefits; their handbags snatched, they get physically harmed and in extreme cases where they drink too much to contain the have been victims of gang rape.

In family setting, in a home where a woman is a drunkard there will always be fights between her and her husband, women increase their chances of being physically hurt by their husbands when they get drunk and hence are unable to reason well as they would without the influence of alcohol and other drugs. The drugs taken often interfere with the cognitive abilities of the people who use them and women are no exception, with this impaired cognitive abilities in a person nothing happens the same and for women it places them at risk of assault not only from their spouses but also from the general public. Some  have also turned to substance abuse or alcohol, as a result of exposure to violence against women perpetrated by men . When someone is exposed to violence the will suffer Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms which is majorly characterized by emotional numbing, intrusion, hyper arousal and even avoidance, a woman experiencing PTSD will turn to alcohol and other forms of substance abuse to escape these memories but this will only make her even more vulnerable. Women who might have also been brought up by parents who constantly fought face a problem in the future as the woman has the syndrome in her, she grew up seeing her mother being victimized by the father and that in itself is a myriad dosage of inferiority complex, making her view herself as a someone to be subjected to a man’s control hence giving in to constant harassment by men. This problem can be light in normal circumstances but if she also takes alcohol or uses other drugs then the risk of substance abuse is greatly escalated.

Research study in Stockholm

Between March 2009 and April 2010, 79 women with substance misuse in Stockholm were interviewed; 35 WwH (WwH) participating in outpatient treatment for substance misuse, and 44 HW (HW) with or without treatment for substance misuse in contact with Social Services. When in contact with Social Services, there is a standing offer to participate in treatment for substance abuse problems, though not mandatory for receiving help. Women were asked to participate in the study by the staff at the respective units or by a researcher when visiting each participant unit.

HW in the present study were individuals without a residence, owned or rented, had no permanent address, had to rely on temporary housing options, or were living rough. Women in shelters or temporarily living in institutions were also included.

There were some missing data on items randomly distributed over the measurements for one of the subjects included in the HW group.

A shortened version of the World Health Organization questionnaire of male violence against women – experience of men’s physical and psychological violence, sexual abuse, number and incidence of assault, and domestic violence between the adults during childhood was completed by the subjects. Questionnaires concerning relation to male perpetrators like partner, father, acquaintance, etc., if the violence against women was reported to the police, if the report passed to prosecution, any help they got and from whom, and experienced satisfaction with this help/support, were formulated for this study by the authors. ASI, Addiction Severity Index, was also used to seek information about substance misuse problems, physical and psychological health, family situation, marital status, children, and experience of the justice system.

The results of the study

In total, 91% (72 of 79 women; WwH 29; HW 43) had experienced  violence against women by men. In total 99% (WwH 97%; HW 100%) reported experiences of emotional/psychological violence against women, 90% (WwH 83%; HW 95%) physical, and 61% (WwH 59%; HW 63%) sexual violence. Nearly two fifths (WwH 18%; HW 82%) of the women had been assaulted during the past year and about one-fifth (WwH 10%; HW 33%) from their current partner, most exposed by numbers and times were the HW. About a third of the women (WwH 34%; HW 28%) had been abused by the father or another male relative, for further information about the number of women in the respective group subjected to violence against women during childhood.

substance abuseThe study, on substance abuse, also found out that alcohol dependence was a contributor to the injustices that women were put through. The mean score for the WwH alcohol consumption days during the last 30 days was 6.8 days (SD=9; range 0-30). Most frequent substance abuse during the last 30 days was amphetamine used by 24 of the HW in mean 7.3 days (SD=12.2; range 0-30). Both groups were suffering from physical ill health as prolonged physical damage/illness (WwH 51%; HW 82%), receiving medication for physical problems (WwH 43%; HW 45%), and had Hepatitis C virus infection (WwH 6%; HW 70%).

In conclusion, it is clear that women who engage in are more exposed to violence against women than those who are not. It is therefore necessary for women addicted to drugs to seek treatment. We at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center are committed to availing help to addicts by availing some of the most integrative approaches to healing an addict. We advocate for natural healing to all kinds of addiction. Call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for help.

Women with Substance Abuse Problems Exposed to  Violence Against Women by Men

 

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