Norwegian Microbiota Study in Anorexia Nervosa

Summary

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious mental disorder occurring mainly in women. AN is characterized by severely restricted food-intake and subsequent low weight. The disease burden for the individual is high with medical complications and psychiatric comorbidities. Despite decades of research, there are large gaps in the understanding of the biological aspects of AN and lack of effective interventions. Current clinical treatment is associated with gastrointestinal problems, high rates of relapse and poor outcome causing long-term sickness absence and disability. During the COVID19 pandemic the prevalence and severity of AN has spiked. Therefore, there is great need of novel strategies for AN treatment, that can be easily implemented in the clinic without adding complexity to the standard care of treatment. During the resent years it has been proposed that mental disorders might be treated via manipulating the composition and function of the microbes that live in the gut (the microbiota) by adding or restricting fermentable nutrients (prebiotics) in the diet. However, in order to use prebiotics to treat the microbiota in AN patients, more knowledge is needed on how the AN microbiota is affected by the current standard care treatment. Whether prebiotics can be useful for normalizing AN microbiota remains to be established. The overall aim of the "Norwegian study of Microbiota in Anorexia Nervosa" (NORMA) is to join forces of researchers, clinical health care services and voluntary sector in a transdiciplinary approach to improve the understanding of the role of the gut microbiota in AN patients. The current project will include a clinical trial in AN patients and experimental studies to screen novel prebiotics for their ability to modify and normalize AN derived microbiota. The long-term goal of the project is to pave the way for a targeted and clinically feasible individualized treatment for better tolerable weight-restoration and improved health in AN patients.

Conditions

• Anorexia Nervosa
• Mental Health Issue
• Microbiota
• Diet
• Gastrointestinal Problems

Interventions

OTHER

standard care treatment program

The standard care treatment consists of a program of psychotherapy and nutritional rehabilitation to achieve normalization of food-intake and weight gain.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Oslo University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Helse Nord-Trøndelag HF

  collaborator OTHER

• Haukeland University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Nordlandssykehuset HF

  collaborator OTHER

• Modum Bad

  collaborator OTHER

• Karolinska Institutet

  collaborator OTHER

• The Eating disorder Association, Norway (SPISFO)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Counseling on eating disorders, Norway (ROS)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Norwegian University of Life Sciences

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Siv K Bøhn, PhD · Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Eligibility

Min Age

16 Years

Max Age

50 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-09-24

Primary Completion

2025-09-30

Completion

2043-09-30

Countries

• Norway

Study Locations