Fall is now upon us, and a new season of conferences is about to begin. As usual, our team will be actively involved in sharing with, as well as learning from, others in the fields of eating disorders, obesity, and general psychiatry. It’s exciting to meet with colleagues from around the world as well as those closer to home to continue the dialogue about research and best practices in eating disorders.
The Eating Disorders Research Society (EDRS) will hold its 21st annual meeting in Sydney, Australia from October 25-27th. This meeting, as its name suggests, brings together researchers from around the globe who are interested in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, ARFID, and other kinds of eating problems.
Evelyn Attia, MD and Deborah Glasofer, PhD will represent our team, and describe some of the exciting research results from our group in paper and poster sessions. Where to find them?
FRIDAY OCTOBER 25th, 2:15 pm-3:45 pm
Parallel Paper Session: Interventions
Dr. Attia will present findings and answer questions about this recently completed medication trial. Olanzapine vs Placebo for Adult Outpatients with Anorexia Nervosa: Impact on Weight, Psychological Symptoms, Metabolic Factors, and Somatic Symptoms During A 16-Week Randomized Clinical Trial. Evelyn Attia, Joanna Steinglass, B Timothy Walsh, Angela Guarda, Allan S Kaplan, Marsha Marcus.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 26th, 5:45 pm-7:00 pm
Poster Session
Can We Identify Signs of What’s to Come? Preliminary Findings on the Longitudinal Outcome of Inpatients with Anorexia Nervosa? Deborah R. Glasofer, Teresa Rufin, Yuanjia Wang, Peng Wu, Joanna Steinglass, B. Timothy Walsh, Evelyn Attia. Dr. Glasofer will be present to answer questions and share insights from our first look at data from an ongoing, 10-year follow-up study of patients who have received treatment in our hospital program.
The New York City Regional Obesity Forum (NYCROF) and The Obesity Society will hold their annual meetings in the fall as well. On display will be work representing research done by Laurel Mayer, MD and Lisa Ranzenhofer, PhD and their collaborators.
The NYCROF (WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26th, 9:00 am-5:00 pm) aims to promote collaboration between institutions in the New York area engaged in obesity research. This year’s meeting will be hosted at Columbia University in Lerner Hall, and posters will be on display during the day.
The week of November 11th has been designated #ObesityWeek, during which time the Obesity Society will host its annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. The Obesity Society is the leading professional society focused on obesity science, treatment and prevention. Its members include basic and clinical researchers, clinicians, educators, public health and policy professionals.
The poster being presented at both obesity conferences represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between the eating disorders team (bolded) and colleagues from our own medical center, including child psychiatry and molecular genetics departments:
Structural and Functional Brain Differences in Children with the FTO Obesity Risk Allele. Claudia Lugo-Candelas, Yajing Pang, Lisa Ranzenhofer, Rachel Korn, Haley Davis, Hailey McInerny, Janet Schebendach, Wendy K. Chung, Rudolph L. Leibel, B. Timothy Walsh, Jonathan Posner, Michael Rosenbaum, Laurel Mayer.
This poster describes research into the FTO gene, which is linked to obesity and eating behavior. The neural mechanism behind this genetic association is not known, and this work suggests possible brain mechanisms linking FTO with eating behavior, and suggests that there are differences in cerebellar structure/function related to FTO genotype.
Also in November, the Montana Psychiatric Conference will hold a one day conference, along with the Big Sky Regional Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (a chapter of AACAP, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). This conference supports regional psychiatrists, and Evelyn Attia, MD, will be one of the featured speakers. You can hear her:
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10th, 1:00pm-2:00 pm
Psychotherapeutic and Pharmacological Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa.
She will discuss research findings that support evidence-based practices for the treatment of this illness.
There is much to share, learn and enjoy. We hope you will come to find us!
