Friederike I Tam1, Mathias J Gerl2, Christian Klose2, Michal A Surma2, Joseph A King3, Maria Seidel3, Kerstin Weidner4, Veit Roessner5, Kai Simons6, Stefan Ehrlich7. 1. Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 2. Lipotype GmbH, Dresden, Germany. 3. Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 4. Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 5. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital C. G. Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 6. Lipotype GmbH, Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany. 7. Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: stefan.ehrlich@tu-dresden.de.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Refeeding is the cornerstone of anorexia nervosa (AN) treatment, but little is known regarding the optimal pace and dietary composition or possible adverse effects of current clinical practices. Plasma lipids may be a moderating factor underlying unfavorable refeeding effects in AN, such as an abnormal central body fat distribution. The objective of this study was to analyze the plasma lipidome in the acutely underweight state of AN before and after refeeding. METHOD: Using high-throughput quantitative mass spectrometry-based shotgun lipidomics, we measured 13 lipid classes and 204 lipid species or subspecies in the plasma of young female patients with acute AN, before (n = 39) and after (n = 23) short-term weight restoration during an intensive inpatient refeeding program (median body mass index [BMI] increase = 26.4%), in comparison to those in healthy control participants (n = 37). RESULTS: Before inpatient treatment, patients with AN exhibited increased concentrations of cholesterol and several other lipid classes. After refeeding, multiple lipid classes including cholesterol and ceramides, as well as certain ceramide species previously associated with obesity or overfeeding, showed increased concentrations, and a pattern of shorter and more saturated triacylgycerides emerged. A machine learning model trained to predict BMI based on the lipidomic profiles revealed a sizable overprediction in patients with AN after weight restoration. CONCLUSION: The results point toward a profound lipid dysregulation with similarities to obesity and other features of the metabolic syndrome after short-term weight restoration. Thus, this study provides evidence for possible short-term adverse effects of current refeeding practices on the metabolic state and should inspire more research on nutritional interventions in AN.
OBJECTIVE: Refeeding is the cornerstone of anorexia nervosa (AN) treatment, but little is known regarding the optimal pace and dietary composition or possible adverse effects of current clinical practices. Plasma lipids may be a moderating factor underlying unfavorable refeeding effects in AN, such as an abnormal central body fat distribution. The objective of this study was to analyze the plasma lipidome in the acutely underweight state of AN before and after refeeding. METHOD: Using high-throughput quantitative mass spectrometry-based shotgun lipidomics, we measured 13 lipid classes and 204 lipid species or subspecies in the plasma of young female patients with acute AN, before (n = 39) and after (n = 23) short-term weight restoration during an intensive inpatient refeeding program (median body mass index [BMI] increase = 26.4%), in comparison to those in healthy control participants (n = 37). RESULTS: Before inpatient treatment, patients with AN exhibited increased concentrations of cholesterol and several other lipid classes. After refeeding, multiple lipid classes including cholesterol and ceramides, as well as certain ceramide species previously associated with obesity or overfeeding, showed increased concentrations, and a pattern of shorter and more saturated triacylgycerides emerged. A machine learning model trained to predict BMI based on the lipidomic profiles revealed a sizable overprediction in patients with AN after weight restoration. CONCLUSION: The results point toward a profound lipid dysregulation with similarities to obesity and other features of the metabolic syndrome after short-term weight restoration. Thus, this study provides evidence for possible short-term adverse effects of current refeeding practices on the metabolic state and should inspire more research on nutritional interventions in AN.
Authors: Michał A Surma; Mathias J Gerl; Ronny Herzog; Jussi Helppi; Kai Simons; Christian Klose Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2021-09-29 Impact factor: 4.379