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Anorexia nervosa - results of a pilot study and narrative review focusing on fatty and bile acids

Publication at First Faculty of Medicine |
2023

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is frequently associated with dyslipidemia and distort fatty acid (FA) metabolism. Gut microbiota is supposed to be an important factor in the etiopathogenesis of AN.

It significantly affects the size and composition of bile acid (BA) pool and BA plasma composition. Apart from digestive function of BAs, these compounds have multiple metabolic functions, due to activation of specific receptors (FXR, TGR5).

The aims of the study were to investigate biochemical measures including plasma lipids (lipoproteins, respectively), fatty acid (FA) patterns, and profile of plasma BAs in AN patients and healthy controls (CON). Furthermore, using multiple linear regression analysis, concentrations of plasma lipids/lipoproteins (as dependent variables) and levels of individual FAs (as independent variables) were studied in both groups (i.e., AN, CON).

Plasma phospholipid FA profiles were analyzed in 39 females with restrictive type of AN (AN-R; median age 17 years), and in 35 CON females (median age 20 years). Subjects with AN head statistically significant decreased body mass index (BMI), both fat mass index (FMI) and lean body mass index (LBMI), thyroid hormones, resting energy expenditure (REE), insulin a HOMA-IR.