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Anorexia nervosa, seasonality, and polyunsaturated fatty acids
Barbara Scolnick1, David I Mostofsky1
1Boston University, Department of Psychology, 64 Cummington Street, Boston, MA, United States.
Abstract:
Anorexia nervosa is a serious neurobehavioral disorder marked by semistarvation, extreme fear of weight gain, frequently hyperactivity, and low body temperature. The etiology remains unknown. We present a speculation that a primary causative factor is that polyunsaturated fatty acids are skewed to prevent oxidative damage in phospholipid membranes. This causes a change in the trade off of oxidation protection vs homeoviscous adaptation to lower temperatures, which sets off a metabolic cascade that leads to the rogue state of anorexia nervosa.
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