title: Association of BDNF with anorexia, bulimia and age of onset of weight loss in six European populations.
abstract: Several genes with an essential role in the regulation of eating behavior and body weight are considered candidates involved in the etiology of eating disorders (ED), but no relevant susceptibility genes with a major effect on anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) have been identified. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in the regulation of food intake and body weight in rodents. We previously reported a strong association of the Met66 allele of the Val66Met BDNF variant with restricting AN (ANR) and low minimum body mass index in Spanish patients. Another single nucleotide polymorphism located in the promoter region of the BDNF gene (-270C>T) showed lack of association with any ED phenotype. In order to replicate these findings in a larger sample, we performed a case-control study in 1142 Caucasian patients with ED consecutively recruited in six different centers from five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK) participating in the 'Factors in Healthy Eating' project. We have found that the Met66 variant is strongly associated to all ED subtypes (AN, ANR, binge-eating/purging AN and BN), and that the -270C BDNF variant has an effect on BN and late age at onset of weight loss. These are the first two variants associated with the pathophysiology of ED in different populations and support a role for BDNF in the susceptibility to aberrant eating behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Genes and Disease Program, Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ribasés
authors.forename: Mònica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gratacòs
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fernández-Aranda
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellodi
authors.forename: Claudette
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boni
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anderluh
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cavallini
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cellini
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Bella
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erzegovesi
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Foulon
authors.forename: Mojca
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gabrovsek
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gorwood
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hebebrand
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hinney
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holliday
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karwautz
authors.forename: Amélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kipman
authors.forename: Radovan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Komel
authors.forename: Benedetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nacmias
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Remschmidt
authors.forename: Valdo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ricca
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sorbi
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Treasure
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Collier
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Estivill
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D000855:Anorexia / Q000235:genetics*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D002032:Bulimia / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor