Meeting Abstract

S6-2.2  Saturday, Jan. 5  Musk Shrews: A Novel Model for Eating Disorders SCHNEIDER, Johanna S.; University of Virginia johanna.schneider@virginia.edu

Concurrent with the rise in obesity has been the identification of binge eating disorder (BED). This disorder is characterized by repeated, intermittent overconsumption of food, but is distinguishable from bulimia in that food intake is not followed by vomiting or any other compensatory mechanisms. Approximately one quarter to one third of patients in obesity clinics suffer from BED. Using the musk shrew (Suncus murinus) as a model of BED we have shown that a subpopulation of shrews will reliably binge on a high fat chow. Similar to human behavior, shrews binge in the absence of hunger. Ongoing studies focus on the sequence and timing of weight gain and the emergence of binge eating as well as on levels of metabolic sensors, such as GnRH II, that could regulate food intake and energy balance in this disorder. This work was supported by NIH R01 MH068729 and JSS is supported by T32 HD07382.