A group of biologists from Oxford University found that the likelihood of developing anorexia depends not only on psychological factors, but also on the composition of the human intestinal microflora. The results of their research are published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
In the course of the experiment, the researchers transplanted human microflora with anorexia into the intestines of mice, which had been previously purified from bacteria. As a result, the rodents began to gain weight much more slowly, became more anxious and impulsive. At the same time, the animals, which were transplanted with the microflora of healthy people, behaved normally.
“This suggests that changes in the microflora can cause some of the symptoms of anorexia in its carriers,” explained one of the authors of the work, Ana Genchulescu.
She clarified that the microflora of carriers of anorexia was, on average, less diverse than that of healthy people.
Researchers believe that in the future, anorexia can be suppressed by cleansing the body of its carriers of microflora and replacing bacteria from healthy people.
In August 2019, an international team of scientists found out that anorexia is a hybrid disease, which is caused by both psychological and physiological factors, including metabolic disorders.