Effect of oral nutritional supplements on outcomes in children presenting with, or at risk of, faltering growth in clinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review summarises evidence regarding oral nutritional supplement (ONS) use in children with, or at risk of, faltering growth (FG). Ten randomised controlled trials (RCTs), compared changes in outcomes amongst children receiving ONS versus control were included. Overall, 1116 children (weighted mean (WM) age 5 years; n658 (59%) male) were recruited, of which 585 (52%) received ONS (WM intake contribution 412 kcal, 16.

Determining the level of data sharing, and number of publications, from research databases that have been given a favourable opinion by UK research ethics committees.

Objective: To determine data sharing and number of publications coming from research databases that have been given a favourable opinion by UK National Health Service (NHS) Research Ethics Committees (RECs).

Design: Cohort study.

Inclusion Criteria & Setting: All research databases listed on the UK Health Research Authority's Assessment Review Portal (HARP) that had received a favourable ethics opinion as of January 2018.

Using videoconsultations to deliver dietary advice to children with chronic kidney disease: a qualitative study of parent and child perspectives.

Background: Children with chronic kidney disease require specialist renal paediatric dietetic care, regardless of disease severity or geographical location; however, under-resourcing makes this challenging. Videoconsultation may offer a solution but research exploring its acceptability is limited. The present study explored parent/carer and child perspectives of videoconsultation as an alternative or supplement to existing regional dietetic care.

Measuring inconsistency in research ethics committee review.

Background: The review of human participant research by Research Ethics Committees (RECs) or Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) is a complex multi-faceted process that cannot be reduced to an algorithm. However, this does not give RECs/ IRBs permission to be inconsistent in their specific requirements to researchers or in their final opinions. In England the Health Research Authority (HRA) coordinates 67 committees, and has adopted a consistency improvement plan including a process called "Shared Ethical Debate" (ShED) where multiple committees review the same project.

A Comparison of Personality, Life Events, Comorbidity, and Health in Monozygotic Twins Discordant for Anorexia Nervosa.

Genetic and environmental factors contribute to the etiology of anorexia nervosa (AN). The co-twin control design is one of the most powerful methods available to evaluate environmental factors that could contribute to differences between monozygotic (MZ) twins who are discordant for AN. Using available data from a unique and rare sample of 22 Swedish female MZ pairs discordant for AN, we compared personality, life events, comorbidity, and health factors.

Improved growth, tolerance and intake with an extensively hydrolysed peptide feed in infants with complex disease.

Background & Aims: Infants with complex medical conditions often display faltering growth due to elevated nutritional requirements, poor intake and intolerance of feeding with malabsorption and maldigestion. As a result their nutritional management can be extremely challenging and enteral nutritional support is required. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness, tolerance and acceptability of nutritional support with a specially formulated, paediatric peptide feed in infants with complex disease and signs of growth faltering with their current nutritional management.

Genetic and environmental components to self-induced vomiting.

Objective: We examined the association between the genetic and environmental factors contributing to the liability to having ever engaged in self-induced vomiting (SIV initiation) and the genetic and environmental factors contributing to regular SIV behaviors (weekly or daily) for weight control.

Method: SIV was assessed in 3,942 women from monozygotic twin pairs and 2,790 women from same-sex dizygotic twin pairs, aged 20-47, from the Swedish Twin study of Adults: Genes and Environment. A causal-contingent-common pathway model assessed the extent to which genetic and environmental factors that influence initiation of SIV also influence regular SIV behaviors.

The expression of cytokines and chemokines in the blood of patients with severe weight loss from anorexia nervosa: an exploratory study.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious, potentially life-threatening disorder characterized by severe weight loss, dysregulated eating, and often excessive exercise. While psychiatric illnesses such as depression are associated with increased levels of pro-inflammatory mediators, evidence for such disturbances in patients with AN has been less clear. In an exploratory study of possible disturbances in immune responses in AN, we assayed a panel of cytokines and chemokines in the blood of patients undergoing inpatient treatment, testing the hypothesis that metabolic disturbances in this disease would lead to a pattern of immune disturbances distinct from that of other psychiatric diseases.

A genome-wide association study of anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex and heritable eating disorder characterized by dangerously low body weight. Neither candidate gene studies nor an initial genome-wide association study (GWAS) have yielded significant and replicated results. We performed a GWAS in 2907 cases with AN from 14 countries (15 sites) and 14 860 ancestrally matched controls as part of the Genetic Consortium for AN (GCAN) and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 3 (WTCCC3).

Binge eating, body mass index, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Objective: Symptoms of both gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are frequently reported by individuals who binge eat. Higher body mass index (BMI) has also been associated with these disorders and with binge eating (BE). However, it is unknown whether BE influences GERD/IBS and how BMI might affect these associations.

A behavioral-genetic investigation of bulimia nervosa and its relationship with alcohol use disorder.

Bulimia nervosa (BN) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) frequently co-occur and may share genetic factors; however, the nature of their association is not fully understood. We assessed the extent to which the same genetic and environmental factors contribute to liability to BN and AUD. A bivariate structural equation model using a Cholesky decomposition was fit to data from 7241 women who participated in the Swedish Twin study of Adults: Genes and Environment.

Assessment of gene expression in peripheral blood using RNAseq before and after weight restoration in anorexia nervosa.

We examined gene expression in the blood of six females with anorexia nervosa (AN) before and after weight restoration using RNAseq. AN cases (aged 19-39) completed clinical assessments and had blood drawn for RNA at hospital admission (T1,<~75% ideal body weight, IBW) and again at discharge (T2,≥ ~ 85% IBW). To examine the relationship between weight restoration and differential gene expression, normalized gene expression levels were analyzed using a paired design.

The genetics of eating disorders.

Over the past decade, considerable advances have been made in understanding genetic influences on eating pathology. Eating disorders aggregate in families, and twin studies reveal that additive genetic factors account for approximately 40% to 60% of liability to anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED). Molecular genetics studies have been undertaken to identify alterations in deoxyribonucleic acid sequence and/or gene expression that may be involved in the pathogenesis of disordered eating behaviors, symptoms, and related disorders and to uncover potential genetic variants that may contribute to variability of treatment response.

Body dissatisfaction in women across the lifespan: results of the UNC-SELF and Gender and Body Image (GABI) studies.

To explore age differences in current and preferred silhouette and body dissatisfaction (current - preferred silhouette discrepancy) in women aged 25-89 years using figural stimuli [range: 1 (very small) to 9 (very large)]. Data were abstracted from two online convenience samples (N = 5868). t-tests with permutation-adjusted p-values examined linear associations between mean silhouette scores (current, preferred, discrepancy score) and age with/without stratification by body mass index (BMI).

CBT4BN versus CBTF2F: comparison of online versus face-to-face treatment for bulimia nervosa.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is currently the "gold standard" for treatment of bulimia nervosa (BN), and is effective for approximately 40-60% of individuals receiving treatment; however, the majority of individuals in need of care do not have access to CBT. New strategies for service delivery of CBT and for maximizing maintenance of treatment benefits are critical for improving our ability to treat BN. This clinical trial is comparing an Internet-based version of CBT (CBT4BN) in which group intervention is conducted via therapeutic chat group with traditional group CBT (CBTF2F) for BN conducted via face-to-face therapy group.

Sleep problems are associated with binge eating in women.

Objective: We examined the association among current self-reported sleep problems, lifetime binge eating (BE), and current obesity in women from the Swedish Twin study of Adults: Genes and Environment.

Method: Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate these associations in 3,790 women aged 20-47 years.

Results: BE was reported by 244 (6.

Effects of reducing the frequency and duration criteria for binge eating on lifetime prevalence of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder: implications for DSM-5.

Objective: We assessed the impact of reducing the binge eating frequency and duration thresholds on the diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED).

Method: We estimated the lifetime population prevalence of BN and BED in 13,295 female twins from the Swedish Twin study of Adults: Genes and Environment employing a range of frequency and duration thresholds. External validation (risk to cotwin) was used to investigate empirical evidence for an optimal binge eating frequency threshold.

Retrospective maternal report of early eating behaviours in anorexia nervosa.

This exploratory study assessed whether maternal recall of childhood feeding and eating practices differed across anorexia nervosa (AN) subtypes. Participants were 325 women from the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa study whose mothers completed a childhood feeding and eating questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to predict AN subtype from measures related to childhood eating: (i) infant feeding (breastfed, feeding schedule, age of solid food introduction), (ii) childhood picky eating (picky eating before age 1 year and between ages one and five) and (iii) infant gastrointestinal problems (vomiting and colic).

Schizophrenia genetics: where next?

The purpose of this invited review is to summarize the state of genetic research into the etiology of schizophrenia (SCZ) and to consider options for progress. The fundamental uncertainty in SCZ genetics has always been the nature of the beast, the underlying genetic architecture. If this were known, studies using the appropriate technologies and sample sizes could be designed with an excellent chance of producing high-confidence results.

Preventing weight gain in first year college students: an online intervention to prevent the "freshman fifteen".

The transition to college has been identified as a critical period for increases in overweight status. Overweight college students are at-risk of becoming obese adults, and, thus prevention efforts targeting college age individuals are key to reducing adult obesity rates. The current study evaluated an Internet intervention with first year college students (N=170) randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: 1) no treatment, 2) 6-week online intervention 3) 6-week weight and caloric feedback only (via email), and 4) 6-week combined feedback and online intervention.

Effects of a reality TV cosmetic surgery makeover program on eating disordered attitudes and behaviors.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a reality TV cosmetic surgery program on eating disordered attitudes, behaviors, mood, anxiety, and self-esteem.

Method: Participants (N=147 women) completed baseline surveys and were subsequently randomly assigned to one of two conditions: one in which they watched a reality TV cosmetic surgery program (The Swan) and one in which they watched a reality TV home improvement program (Clean Sweep). Assessments were conducted immediately post-video and two weeks later.

Ultraviolet- and short-wavelength cone contributions alter the early components of the ERG of young zebrafish.

The electroretinogram (ERG) is a commonly used measure to examine retinal processing in both basic and clinical research. The purpose of this study was to determine the retinal mechanisms responsible for the developmental differences found in the zebrafish ERG waveform. The ERG of young zebrafish possesses a voltage-negative response to ultraviolet- and short-wavelength stimuli, but not to middle- and long-wavelength stimuli; the ERG of adult zebrafish does not possess this response component.