Aug 2016 DOI 10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-16-1154
Giardino S. Neri F.Corresponding author
Centre of Rare Diseases of the Sicilian Region, University of Catania, Italy
Superior mesenteric artery syndrome 1234 is a rare disorder characterised by a compression of the duodenum because of the reduced angle between the aorta and superior mesenteric artery. The disease is clinically characterised by abdominal pain, lack of appetite, vomiting and anorexia; some of these symptoms also characterise eating disorders. We report a case of a young female patient presenting with abdominal pain, loss of appetite and chronic loss of weight which led to misdiagnosis of anorexia nervosa; ultrasound with echo color Doppler methodology has subsequently allowed the correct diagnosis.
May 2015 DOI 10.14302/issn.2574-4518.jsdr-14-554
Latzer YaelCorresponding author
Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel.
Introduction: Night Eating Syndrome (NES) is a phenomenon combining aspects of both sleeping disorders and Eating Disorders (EDs). To the best of our knowledge, few studies to date have examined NES among patients with EDs. None examined ED patients with and without NES in clinical settings by comparing their sleep disturbances using the new NES diagnostic criteria 1. This study aimed to compare subjective and objective sleep patterns and ED-related psychopathology among NES patients with and without binge eating (BE) behavior. Method: The sample included 71 women, ages 19-62, referred for assessment to a hospital Eating Disorders Clinic. Measures included self-report questionnaires, psychiatric evaluation and actigraph recording for one week. Participants were divided into three subgroups: those with NES without BE behavior (NES-only, n = 17), with both NES and BE behavior (NES-BE, n = 22), and with BE behavior without NES (BE-only, n = 32). Results: Regarding objective sleep monitoring, only one group difference emerged: significantly longer sleep duration for the NES-only group than the other groups. Subjectively, both NES-only and NES-BE groups described significantly more sleep disturbances than the BE-only group. Moreover, only one inter-group difference emerged in ED-related psychopathology: According to new NES diagnostic criteria, the NES-only and NES-BE groups reported significantly higher levels of NES symptoms than the BE-only group. Conclusions: Groups' similarities in sleeping disturbances and psychopathology level and differences between objective and subjective sleep disturbances raise the question of whether NES should be considered part of the BE-only subgroup, calling for further research.