Anorexics Have Excess Fat in Bone Marrow
Excess fat and anorexia may be an oxymoron but the researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have discovered that people who suffer from anorexia nervosa have excess fat in their bone marrow. The study which was published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research in February 2010 bases on MRI scans of the knees in 20 healthy girls and 20 girls with anorexia, while the images were evaluated by radiologists not knowing which scans came from girls with anorexia and which from the healthy ones.
The results of the study have shown that girls with anorexia had significantly elevated levels of fat in their knees. In comparison with healthy girls they had less than one half of the healthy marrow confirming the earlier findings in mice with symptoms similar to those in anorexia. The results of the newest study, animal researches and some previous researches shed more light on loss of bone mass in anorexics sometimes leading to development of osteoporosis and even fracture. Improper nutrition activates differentiation of stem cells in bone marrow into fat cells instead osteoblasts, cells which are responsible for bone formation. This is particularly problematic because the majority of anorexics are young women in adolescence who experience loss of bone density at the time when the bone formation should be at its height.
The research group led by Catherine Gordon MD, MSc and director of the Bone Health Program at the Children’s Hospital Boston has announced further studies to determine why stem cells differentiate into fat cell instead osteoblasts in anorexics. One theory that may explain such process is the attempt of the body to store energy and warmth. Gordon’s team also wants to determine the link between excess fat in bone marrow and bone density, and is currently testing whether MRI scans can be used to evaluate the efficacy of treatments for improvement of bone mass.
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