The genetics of anorexia and bulimia nervosa

Abstract

(from the chapter) The candidate gene literature for anorexia nervosa (AN) is modest for a disorder of such morbidity and mortality, and most candidate genes studied have utilized a limited number of polymorphisms in samples sizes that would now be considered suboptimal for the identification of significant associations. There is convergent evidence from neuroimaging and molecular genetics for involvement of both dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmitter systems in the pathophysiology of or susceptibility to AN. However, the diversity of candidate gene families that has been examined in the AN literature is limited and many additional families of genes that function in neuronal and other tissues remain to be examined. Fortunately, the development of genomic technologies enabling exhaustive analyses of both common and rare germline variation in the genome, and an appreciation for the importance of larger samples sizes in pursuing association studies provide opportunities for discovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)