Active clinical trials for "Anorexia Nervosa"

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that bodily self-consciousness is subjectively and inter-subjectively constituted and that some dimensions of the bodily self-consciousness are impaired in Anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a common psychiatric illness, with severe prognosis (5% mortality) that has changed little over in half a century. One of the forms is the restrictive anorexia nervosa (ANR). It consists of a phobia of weight gain and food with a massive food restriction. This pathology is studied in psychology but not using the theories of embodied cognition in which "perception and action" interact through sensorimotor processes. They are the source of attitudes (unconscious) towards certain stimuli and influence our interpretation (conscious).

There are two major goals of this investigation. First, to develop pilot data to justify a larger randomized clinical trial of an intervention designed to train interoceptive signals (IS) and interoceptive responsivity (IR) in persons with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Second, the investigators will determine whether persons with AN have similar or different IS and IR for heart rate while exercising as compared to age and gender matched controls.

The investigators aim to analyse in adolescents with mental illness effectiveness, side effects, and serum level concentrations of antipsychotics (olanzapine and aripiprazole), antidepressants (Duloxetine, Atomoxetine) by means of "Therapeutic Drug Monitoring" (TDM) in order to optimize dosage - effect relations and minimize unwanted side effects.

The purpose of this study is to use fMRI imaging technology to examine areas in the brain related to appetite, reward and cognition in adolescent women with eating disorders as compared to those who have never had an eating disorder. Better understanding biologic vulnerabilities in women with anorexia is essential for developing more effective treatment options.

This study will use positron emission tomography imaging to investigate changes in dopamine systems in people with anorexia nervosa before and after weight restoration.

Executive functions are part of the high-level cognitive processes essential to the proper functioning of human cognition. They consist mainly of flexibility, updating and inhibition. Some studies have shown a correlation between executive disorders (impaired executive function) and psychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or phobias. These executive disorders are related to dysfunctions of the fronto-striatal loops. In addition, other studies have investigated the link that may exist between eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa and executive functioning. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders are eating disorders characterized by a dysfunction in food intake with restriction of food or compulsions as well as strong concerns about the body schema. Concerning the executive functioning, these studies highlight a lack of cognitive flexibility for patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa but also dysfunctions depending on the type of pathology (anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa). These studies also highlight the beneficial effects of cognitive remediation on people with eating disorders. However, the investigation of the inhibitory control has not yet been specifically studied. Moreover, since eating disorders are structurally different, a comparison between several pathologies would be interesting to consider. The aim of this study is to determine if a dysfunction of inhibitory control can be highlighted in people with eating disorders. This study would also allow further researches about cognitive remediation suitable for the specific difficulties encountered in these diseases.

This study will use a randomized, controlled, double-blind design involving the administration of intranasal oxytocin (INOT) or placebo to adults with anorexia nervosa, restricting subtype and age-matched controls prior to neuroimaging to assess the impact on frontolimbic brain activity in response to socioemotional stimuli as well as eating behavior in a test meal paradigm.

The heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In the model of anorexia nervosa, ANS is disturbed with mostly a predominance of activation of the parasympathetic nervous system and a decrease of the sympathetic system. Various explanations of this these dysfunctions are proposed in literature, mainly malnutrition, physical hyperactivity, anxiety, that are known characteristics of anorexia nervosa. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate correlation between ANS dysfunction and anxiety in anorexia nervosa. Other objectives of this study are firstly to evaluate correlation between ANS dysfunction and others parameters (weight, body mass index, depression, physical activity, purgative ou restrictive type, duration of disease, smoking) in anorexia nervosa and secondly to see if HRV is a predictive parameter of the evolution of anorexia nervosa.

The current etiological pathological model of anorexia nervosa is poly-factorial involving individual genetic and psychological factors, in close interaction with environmental, family and socio-cultural factors. Among these factors, this study focuses on the central coherence process (cognitive ability to integrate complex information into a comprehensive meaning), in the active phase of the disease. Therefore, patients followed in the addiction service of the Nantes University Hospital will perform neuropsychological tests assessing executive functions involved in the process of central coherence. Impairment of central coherence process could act as a maintenance factor of the disease, particularly in connection with body dysmorphic disorder. The therapeutic perspectives acting on the central coherence process like cognitive remediation deserve to deepen knowledge on the cognitive profile of patients with anorexia nervosa.