EARLY DETECTION OF VOMITING BEHAVIOR IN PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS

Eating Disorders (ED) are serious psychological illnesses associated with severe disorders in people''s eating behaviors. With the exception of patients with restrictive Anorexia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder, patients with EDs, specifically those with bulimic/purgative Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and other unspecified EDs, exhibit vomiting behavior. These patients represent 70% of the total cases that come to a Unit specialized in eating disorders. Until now, the only way to detect purgative behaviors, and therefore adequately diagnose these patients, is through what is expressed in consultation by the patient or family members. Except for the consequent hypokalemia in severe and long-lasting cases, there is no biological marker that allows identifying the presence of vomiting behavior in these patients. Given the lack of existing tools, the present invention allows the diagnosis and monitoring of vomiting behavior, as well as its severity, in patients with ED in an early stage, using saliva samples that can be collected in a non-invasive and simple way, being able to complement the classic tools currently used. Specifically, the invention proposes an In Vitro kit based on amplification techniques of certain bacterial strains and their combination, as a tool for the detection of vomiting behavior, as has been demonstrated in clinical trials carried out where An increase in the levels of these bacteria has been seen in patients with purgative behavior, and also with a correlation with the frequency of vomiting.

Advantages

The main advantages of this development are: • New method to detect vomiting behavior in patients with ED based on the use of oral microbiota as a biomarker. • It is a non-invasive method since it uses saliva samples. • In Vitro Kit capable of amplifying bacteria belonging to a selected genus. • Early detection of eating disorders: diagnosis, monitoring and prediction.

 Uses and Applications

The invention encompasses the global market for TCA therapies. Currently, there are no devices or methods on the market to clinically detect the presence of vomiting behavior in patients with ED.