Comorbidity of major depression and anxiety disorders in twin pairs

Article Abstract:

Since major depression so often occurs with an anxiety disorder, family studies have been carried out to look for relationships between the two conditions. The study of these disorders among pairs of twins is helpful in estimating genetic causative factors. This report analyzed a Norwegian twin study to detect causative relationships between major depression and anxiety disorders. The study group consisted of 177 pairs of same-sex twins. Forty-one subjects had major depression without anxiety disorder, 51 had major depression with an anxiety disorder, 31 had depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, 85 had an anxiety disorder without major depression, and 41 had anxiety with panic attacks and no major depression. It was uncommon for the co-twin of a patient with only anxiety to have only depression. However, mixed anxiety and depression was common among co-twins of only depressed subjects. A diagnosis of depression alone in a twin of a subject with depression alone was uncommon, but anxiety alone was found to occur more commonly with anxiety alone in a twin. The relationship between pure depression and anxiety-depression was almost three times higher in monozygotic (from one egg) than dizygotic (from two separate eggs) twins, and no relationship between diagnoses in dizygotic twins was statistically significant. It was concluded that there is a causative relationship between major depression and comorbid anxiety-depression, but none between these diagnoses and pure anxiety. Furthermore, since the relationship between major depression and mixed anxiety-depression was only statistically significant among monozygotic twins, it is suggested that this causative factor is genetic. A significant relationship between major depression with panic attacks and major depression without panic attacks was found, but no relationship between anxiety disorders with panic attacks and depression with and without panic attacks was detected. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Psychological aspects, Causes of, Depression, Mental, Depression (Mood disorder), Anxiety, Twins

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Greater left cerebral hemispheric metabolism in bulimia assessed by positron emission tomography

Article Abstract:

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by a cycle of binge eating and then purging. It is seen mostly in young women, who usually maintain a normal body weight in this way. Using various imaging techniques, it has been possible to determine changes in the brains of these patients in comparison with normal control subjects. One such technique, known as positron emission tomography (PET), has been able to determine metabolic rates in different areas of the brain. Previous studies have revealed a hypermetabolism in areas of the brains of anorexic and bulimic subjects, which returned to normal with subsequent weight gain. This article reports the PET imaging findings of eight females with bulimia and eight normal women of the same age, who all had a normal body weight. Average glucose metabolism rates were calculated for the left and right hemispheres of the brain, to obtain information on actual nerve activity. The normal women showed higher metabolic rates in the right hemisphere. The women with bulimia showed similar metabolic rates in both hemispheres, but had higher left and lower right brain activity than the normal subjects. The greatest differences were seen in the right parietal and temporal lobes of the brain: the bulimic patients showed higher activity on the left, and the normal subjects showed higher metabolic rates on the right. This asymmetric pattern seems to be unique to bulimic subjects and needs to be further studied with a larger group. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Usage, Physiological aspects, Eating disorders, Bulimia, Brain, PET imaging, Positron emission tomography

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