Project Summary

Robert D. Levitan, M.D. (Young Investigator 2000) of Centre For Addiction and Mental Health, is implementing powerful new genetic techniques to examine a key component of the serotonin system in female patients with bulimia or seasonal affective disorder.  The particular focus will be a biochemical system that enhances the way brain cells communicate with one another.  There is evidence that this system is abnormal in patients with these two disorders.  By studying the genes that underlie this biochemical system, one or more genetic variations that predispose to these conditions can be identified.  This work may lead to early identification of subjects at risk for these disorders, and potentially to new treatment approaches.

Program Area: EATING DISORDERS\Bulimia Nervosa

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