Anorexia Nervosa Modeled In A Dish, Risk Gene Uncovered, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Study Reveals

Although anorexia nervosa (AN) is often viewed as a nonbiological disorder, it is strongly suspected of having a genetic component, one that likely involves associations with multiple genes. These associations, however, appear to produce signals that are too faint to catch with the sort of genome-wide studies used thus far to evaluate AN. To enhance our sensitivity to AN's genetic signals, scientists based at the University of California San Diego School (UCSD) of Medicine have created a cellular model of the eating disorder. This model enabled the scientists to identify a gene, TACR1, that seems to contribute to AN pathophysiology.