Scott van Zeeland

Question 1

Scott van zeeland

Answer 1

evidence for the role of the EPHX2 gene variants in anorexia nervosa

Question 2

aim

Answer 2

to investigate genetic variants associated with the development of anorexia nervosa

Question 3

procedure

Answer 3

• DNA samples were taken from a group of 261 patients diagnosed with anorexia and 73 controls without the disorder, all of whom were female and of western descent
• to be used in the study the individual had to have a lifetime BMI of 15 or lower and a history of being diagnosed with anorexia
• the matched control group had BMIs of 18 - 29 and were matched by age and ethnicity
• overall there were 1205 people with anorexia and 1948 in the controls as they found more people using replication studies

Question 4

resutls

Answer 4

• no single genome that had significance which was what the researchers expected from pervious research in the area
• variants in 2 genes ITPR3 and EPHX2 would be worth further investigation
• most significant variants between control and experimental groups were in the EPHX2 gene
• those who had AN associated with EPHX2 gene had the highest scores on Beck’s Depression Inventory and lowest BMI scores

Question 5

conclusions

Answer 5

evidence may suggest that variants in the EPHX2 gene may increase the risk of developing AN which could lead to further research into the biological explanations of AN

Question 6

strengths

Answer 6

• the methods used were reliable as the researchers were measuring gene variants using highly standardised methods and equipment
• sample sizes were large throughout all stages of the study both with number of patients and controls so there is a reasonable amount of validity
• used data from other studies and samples when drawing conclusions, and they had an initial phase and then attempted to replicate findings, giving the study reliability

Question 7

weaknesses

Answer 7

• all of the patient samples came from females, and although most AN patients are female an increasing number of males are diagnosed
• very little is actually known about the actions of many genes and so although there may be a relationship the explanations incomplete as it is not understood how the gene is implicated in AN
• much of the research into the EPHX2 gene is from animals and therefore not reliable
• they did take into account other variables e.g., genes for ancestry, to try to control for any gene variation being due to something other than anorexia