Brain Stimulation Therapy Proven to Reduce Core Symptoms of Anorexia [Video]

A recent study has proven that a non-invasive brain stimulation therapy is effective in treating core symptoms of anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa, according to non-profit guide HealthGuide, is an eating disorder that is characterized by three features: refusal to maintain a healthy body weight, fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image.

The study is the first to conduct a randomized control trial to access the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulations (rTMS) in treating the core symptoms of anorexia nervosa.

According to the findings published in journal PLOS One, 49 people separated into two groups participated in the study.

They underwent food exposure and decision-making test before and after a real and a sham treatment. Symptoms of anorexia nervosa were also measured prior to the treatment, as well as 20 minutes and 24 hours after.

The group who received real rTMS has shown modest evidence that the brain stimulation therapy can reduce the core symptoms of the eating disorder. It also encourages sensible decision-making.

"We found that one session of rTMS reduced the urge to restrict food intake, levels of feeling full and levels of feeling fat," said Dr. Jessica McClelland, a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) in King's College London, and first author of the study, in a statement.

"Taken together, these findings suggest that brain stimulation may reduce symptoms of anorexia by improving cognitive control over compulsive features of the disorder," McClelland added.

The rTMS is a form of brain stimulation therapy that utilizes magnetic pulses instead of electric pulses to activate parts of the brain. It was approved by US Food and Drugs Association as a treatment for depression.

In the study, the rTMS is aimed at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that thought to be involved in the core symptoms of the eating disorder.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, anorexia nervosa is one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses in women.

It is also one of the mental health conditions that have the highest death rates.

Girls and women are most likely to have anorexia nervosa. In the United States, almost 1 percent of women suffer from it.