Publications by authors named "Eddy K"

Background: Individuals with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) self-report heightened sensitivity to taste and smell, but neither phenomenon has been systematically explored in the laboratory. We hypothesized that, compared to healthy controls (HC, n = 34), children, adolescents, and adults with full/subthreshold ARFID (n = 100; ages 9 to 23 years) would self-report heightened response to taste/smell stimuli and exhibit stronger bitter taste perception and heightened smell perception in performance-based tasks, and these differences would be especially prominent in those with the ARFID-sensory sensitivity presentation.

Method: We measured self-reported sensitivity to taste/smell with the adolescent/adult sensory profile (AASP).

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Background: Appetite-regulating hormones are implicated in anorexia nervosa (AN) pathophysiology, however, data are limited for appetite-regulating hormones across the AN weight spectrum. We aimed to investigate fasting and post-prandial concentrations of appetite-regulating hormones - peptide YY (PYY), cholecystokinin (CCK), and ghrelin - among adolescent and young adult females across the AN weight spectrum, specifically those with AN and Atypical AN, and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Participants (N = 95; ages 11-22 years) included 33 with AN, 25 with Atypical AN, and 37 HC.

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Objective: Cognitive-behavioral therapy for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID; CBT-AR) shows promise in improving clinical outcomes in children/adolescents and adults. We aimed to identify predictors of outcomes in CBT-AR. We hypothesized that younger age, non-underweight status, and presence of the fear of aversive consequences profile of ARFID would predict greater likelihood of remission post-treatment, and that presence of the lack of interest in eating/food and sensory sensitivity profiles would predict greater likelihood of persistence post-treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) lacks robust evidence-based treatments, prompting the exploration of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for ARFID (CBT-AR) as a new, exposure-based option for individuals aged 10 and older.
  • The study will assess the feasibility, acceptability, and initial effectiveness of CBT-AR for young people aged 12-25 with high psychiatric comorbidity in an outpatient setting, involving clinicians, patients, and parents in the evaluation process.
  • Over a 12-month period, researchers will conduct assessments to measure ARFID symptoms, mood, quality of life, and treatment feedback at various stages, with the goal of refining future ARFID treatments and implementing CBT-AR more
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Talipes equinovarus, also called clubfoot, is a relatively common congenital defect affecting approximately one in every 1000 live births. Most cases of clubfoot are expected to be idiopathic and unrelated to an underlying genetic syndrome. In approximately 20% of cases, a clear genetic etiology is identified.

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Background: Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is an obstetric emergency. While PPH-related deaths are relatively rare in high-resource settings, PPH continues to be the leading cause of maternal mortality in limited-resource settings. We undertook a systematic review to identify, assess, and synthesise cost-effectiveness evidence on postpartum interventions to prevent, diagnose, or treat PPH.

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Objective: Despite substantial research indicating difficulties with emotion regulation across eating disorder presentations, emotion regulation has yet to be studied in adults with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). We hypothesized that (1) those with ARFID would report greater overall emotion regulation difficulties than nonclinical participants, and (2) those with ARFID would not differ from those with other eating disorders on the level of emotion regulation difficulty.

Methods: One hundred and thirty-seven adults (age 18-30) from an outpatient clinic with ARFID (n = 27), with other primarily restrictive eating disorders (e.

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Background: Proteomics offers potential for detecting and monitoring anorexia nervosa (AN) and its variant, atypical AN (atyp-AN). However, research has been limited by small protein panels, a focus on adult AN, and lack of replication.

Methods: In this study, we performed Olink multiplex profiling of 92 inflammation-related proteins in females with AN/atyp-AN ( = 64), all of whom were ≤90% of expected body weight, and age-matched healthy control individuals ( = 44).

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Background: The minority of people with an eating disorder receive treatment. Little is known about predictors of receiving treatment.

Methods: Using data from the Growing Up Today Study we identified correlates of receiving treatment for an eating disorder among the 1237 U.

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Article Synopsis
  • ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) is prevalent among youth with nutrition-related medical issues, and this study examines its medical comorbidities and nutritional markers compared to healthy controls.
  • In the study of 100 youth with ARFID and 58 healthy controls, those with ARFID reported significantly higher instances of gastrointestinal (37% vs. 3%) and immune-mediated conditions (42% vs. 24%).
  • Youth with ARFID also showed higher rates of elevated triglycerides (28% vs. 12%) and hs-CRP levels (17% vs. 4%), indicating potential cardiovascular risks potentially linked to their restricted diets.
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Disruptions in appetite-regulating hormones may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). No study has previously assessed fasting levels of orexigenic ghrelin or anorexigenic peptide YY (PYY), nor their trajectory in response to food intake among youth with ARFID across the weight spectrum. We measured fasting and postprandial (30, 60, 120 minutes post-meal) levels of ghrelin and PYY among 127 males and females with full and subthreshold ARFID (n = 95) and healthy controls (HC; n = 32).

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Background: Accumulating preclinical and preliminary translational evidence shows that the hypothalamic peptide oxytocin reduces food intake, increases energy expenditure, and promotes weight loss. It is currently unknown whether oxytocin administration is effective in treating human obesity.

Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we randomly assigned adults with obesity 1:1 (stratified by sex and obesity class) to receive intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) or placebo four times daily for 8 weeks.

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Background: differentiates avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) from other eating disorders (EDs) by a lack of overvaluation of body weight/shape driving restrictive eating. However, clinical observations and research demonstrate ARFID and shape/weight motivations sometimes co-occur. To inform classification, we: (1) derived profiles underlying restriction motivation and examined their validity and (2) described diagnostic characterizations of individuals in each profile to explore whether findings support current diagnostic schemes.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the progression of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in youth aged 9 to 23 over two years, focusing on factors influencing treatment outcomes and diagnostic changes.* -
  • Among 100 participants, 50% maintained their ARFID diagnosis while a small percentage shifted to anorexia nervosa; severity in certain ARFID profiles affected persistence and remission rates during follow-ups.* -
  • The results highlight the unique characteristics of ARFID compared to other eating disorders and emphasize how specific profiles can help predict the course of the disorder.*
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Background: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a feeding/eating disorder characterized by avoidance/restriction of food intake by volume and/or variety. The emergence of shape/weight-related eating disorder symptoms in the longitudinal course of ARFID is an important clinical phenomenon that is neither robustly documented nor well understood. We aimed to characterize the emergence of eating disorder symptoms among adults with an initial diagnosis of ARFID who ultimately developed other eating disorders.

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Melanoma is the most aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer due to its high propensity to metastasize to distant organs. Significant progress has been made in the last few decades in melanoma therapeutics, most notably in targeted therapy and immunotherapy. These approaches have greatly improved treatment response outcomes; however, they remain limited in their abilities to hinder disease progression due, in part, to the onset of acquired resistance.

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Previous work done by our laboratory described the use of an immunocompetent spontaneous melanoma-prone mouse model, TGS (TG-3/SKH-1), to evaluate treatment outcomes using inhibitors of glutamatergic signaling and immune checkpoint for 18 weeks. We showed a significant therapeutic efficacy with a notable sex-biased response in male mice. In this follow-up 18-week study, the dose of the glutamatergic signaling inhibitor was increased (from 1.

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Objective: Few studies have focused on brain structure in atypical anorexia nervosa (atypical AN). This study investigates differences in gray matter volume (GMV) between females with anorexia nervosa (AN) and atypical AN, and healthy controls (HC).

Method: Structural magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired for 37 AN, 23 atypical AN, and 41 HC female participants.

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Article Synopsis
  • ARFID and AN are both restrictive eating disorders but differ in motivations for inadequate dietary intake; ARFID’s cognitive characteristics in relation to impulsivity and future outcome valuation are under-researched compared to AN's.
  • In a study with 104 participants, findings showed that individuals with ARFID had a steeper delay discounting compared to those with AN, suggesting different cognitive processes between the two disorders, whereas ARFID did not significantly differ from healthy controls.
  • This research highlights the need for understanding cognitive traits specific to each eating disorder to improve treatment strategies, indicating that ARFID and AN have distinct cognitive profiles.
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Article Synopsis
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) targets three motivations: sensory sensitivity, lack of interest/low appetite, and fear of aversive consequences, using specific modular interventions for each.
  • In a study with 42 participants aged 10-55, significant correlations were found between decreases in these mechanisms and reductions in ARFID severity, with notable weekly improvements observed across the board.
  • Results indicated that participants receiving the sensory and fear modules experienced greater improvements than those who did not, while lack of interest/low appetite showed potential for improvement regardless of module participation, suggesting the need for future studies to further explore treatment effectiveness and measurement.
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Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer and is responsible for the majority of deaths from skin cancer. Therapeutic advances in the last few decades, notably the development of novel targeted therapies and immunotherapies have significantly improved patient outcomes; nonetheless, these options remain limited due to the onset of resistance to treatment modalities and relapse. In this review, we focus on the available therapeutic options, their benefits, and limitations.

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Background: Recent research suggests that individuals with eating disorders (EDs) report elevated anhedonia, or loss of pleasure. Although individuals with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) often express that they do not look forward to eating, it is unclear whether they experience lower pleasure than those without EDs. Thus, identifying whether individuals with ARFID experience anhedonia may yield important insights that inform clinical conceptualization and treatment.

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  • The study aimed to compare bone health outcomes in adolescent and young adult women with atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN), typical anorexia nervosa (AN), and normal-weight healthy controls (HC) based on DSM-5 criteria.
  • A total of 432 participants, aged 12-21, underwent bone density assessments, showing that bone outcomes in AAN were generally intermediate between AN and HC, with specifics on various bone metrics.
  • Factors such as lower BMI, lean mass, and illness duration were linked to poorer bone health, highlighting the impact of AAN on bone density compared to AN and HC.
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  • The study aimed to analyze how oxytocin—a hormone related to appetite—reacts to food intake in adolescents and young adults with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) compared to healthy controls.
  • Researchers compared 109 participants (54 with ARFID and 55 healthy controls) by measuring serum oxytocin levels before and after a standardized meal.
  • Results indicated that individuals with ARFID had significantly higher oxytocin levels at all measured time points, suggesting that elevated oxytocin may play a role in the food avoidance behaviors seen in ARFID.
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