SKAN funds third Phase I study on early anorexia risk

The Sarah Kyle Anorexia Nervosa Research Foundation is funding a third Phase I project led by UC San Diego psychiatry professor Carolina Makowski to study how genetics, metabolism and brain biology may signal anorexia nervosa risk before symptoms appear. The work could help identify earlier warning signs in adolescence and shape future prevention and treatment strategies.

Why it matters: - Anorexia nervosa often starts in adolescence, when the brain is still developing. - Earlier biological markers could help identify young people at risk before the illness takes hold. - Better risk prediction could support earlier intervention, prevention and treatment.

What happened: - The Sarah Kyle Anorexia Nervosa Research Foundation funded its third Phase I research project. - Carolina Makowski, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, is leading the study. - The project focuses on genetic factors that link metabolism and brain biology in anorexia nervosa. - The Foundation said the project is part of its effort to identify early biological risk for anorexia nervosa.

The details: - The research will combine large genetic studies of anorexia nervosa, blood-based metabolic markers and brain imaging. - The team will look for shared genes and biological pathways across those data sources. - Co-investigators at the University of Oslo are Dennis van der Meer and Ole Andreassen. - The researchers will examine how brain biology may help explain the relationship between metabolism and anorexia nervosa. - The team plans to build a genetic risk score that includes metabolism and brain biology information. - The study will test whether that score improves prediction of later anorexia-related symptoms. - The team will compare genetic information collected in childhood with symptoms that emerge in adolescence. - The project aims to identify early signs of vulnerability and inform future prevention and treatment approaches.

Between the lines: - The project reflects a shift toward using multiple biological signals, not just symptoms, to understand anorexia nervosa risk. - The work also points to a practical research question: whether routinely collected blood markers can help speed up risk detection. - SKAN is backing proof-of-principle studies, which suggests the Foundation is trying to move promising ideas toward larger prevention and intervention research.

What's next: - The research team will analyze the genetic, metabolic and brain-imaging data to build and test its risk model. - The findings could feed into future studies on early detection, prevention and treatment. - SKAN said the project advances one of its priorities: identifying early biological markers of anorexia nervosa. - More information about SKAN and its funded research projects is available in the Foundation's announcement.