Intestinal barrier integrity in anorexia nervosa (a pilot study)

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Psychiatry
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Intestinal barrier integrity alterations are not conclusively linked to anorexia nervosa (AN) etiology.
• Pilot study to investigate serum markers of intestinal barrier function in AN patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify serum markers of intestinal barrier integrity in AN.
• Determine relationships between these markers and BMI, eating disorder symptoms, GI complaints, and liver function (INR).

Main Methods:

• Assessed 25 AN outpatients and 28 healthy controls (HC).
• Measured serum zonulin family peptides (ZFP), lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), and intestinal fatty-acid-binding protein (i-FABP).
• Evaluated eating disorder symptoms and gastrointestinal complaints via questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Serum ZFP concentration was significantly lower in AN patients (44.2 ± 7.4 ng/ml) than in HC (49.2 ± 5.6 ng/ml), p=0.008.
• LBP and i-FABP levels did not differ between groups.
• In AN patients, serum ZFP was predicted by BMI (β=0.479, p=0.009), age (β=0.411, p=0.020), and INR (β=-0.388, p=0.028).

Conclusions:

• Abnormal serum ZFP levels were observed in AN patients.
• Further research is needed to explore intestinal barrier function in AN using diverse assessment methods.