Possible new diagnostic technique for eating disorders
19 Oct 2006
A study by researchers at Brigham Young University in the US concludes that the examination of carbon and nitrogen in the proteins of hair could reveal information about a person’s day-to-day nutrition. Lead author Kent Hatch says clinicians could use this to help diagnose anorexia or bulimia in sufferers who lie about or do not recognise their problem. The results, published in the journal Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, compared the chemical pattern in strands of hair between 20 young women seeking treatment for eating disorders and 22 others with normal eating behaviour.