Charlotte's Helix goes to BBC Woman's Hour

First things first - the photo!  No, it doesn't really belong to "us" (it belongs to Rosamund Upton), but given that eating disorders were given a good 20+ minutes discussion on the @BBCWomansHour programme on Monday this week that features it, we are borrowing it - because it is such a refreshing change from the usual photo library suspects that accompany features on eating disorders!

Of those 20+ minutes, many of them were devoted to our very own @cbulik - lead scientist for the #AN25K challenge - talking genomes, sociocultural dissassocations, nature AND nurture, and negative energy balances - and we have lots to share.

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The programme got off to a promising start:
"We want your involvement here!" said @janegarvey1 as she introduced Profs Bulik and Schmidt, and the very courageous Issy Jackson - who allowed Jane to try and get inside her head from back when she was still very ill with her eating disorder (and thankfully, now, she is not!).

Jane succinctly described AN25K as aiming to "nail down" the genetic component of anorexia - an apt description for an incredibly complex bit of research into the science that has, for much too long, eluded the world.

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Profs Cynthia Bulik & Ulrike Schmidt & Issy Jackson

You can listen to all the rest of the programme and all of its contributors on the Listen Again facility (or download the podcast and carry it with you), but to "nail down" Cindy's contribution, here are some of the main points that she made in a bullet pointed nutshell:

• Anorexia is known to run in families
• heritabilty for anorexia is somewhere between 50% and 60%, but environment is also a player
  
• anxious at baseline, the "underlying turbulent biology" of someone who suffers from anorexia, may be calmed by the negative energy balance that starvation puts in place
  
• anorexia is not just a female problem, nor is it just a teenage problem - men, women, boys, girls - all ages - we want you to come forward
  
• you may have had anorexia years ago and be recovered, or you may still be unwell, either way DNA does not change, you can contribute to this study
• the study is expected to find hundreds of genes, each having a small effect - in order to uncover these small effects, science needs very large sample numbers
• body image issues may feature somewhere in the whole, but it is time to redress the balance and pay more attention to the biological piece of the eating disorder puzzle
• early intervention with eating disorders is critical; genetic risk scores may be able to identify the vulnerable early on and make early intervention unequivocally easier to put in place
  
• there are currently no medications effective in the treatment of anorexia, because we don't have the understanding of the underlying biology to inform their development
  
• genetics may help us personalise treatments in the future.

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Last word goes to @janegarvey1: "Let's get this show on the road!" - I couldn't have put it better myself - and I fancy us back to that big juggernaut with which we started this post!

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Visit our DNA donations page here if you are eligible to donate (a diagnosis anytime in your lifetime, and the consent of a parent if you are under 16, is all that is needed).  If you are able to offer your DNA, or your support, to this research, we are very much looking forward to hearing from you.

Last, but not least, a very big Thank You! to the team at @BBCWomansHour for welcoming us in and giving us audience.

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 Update 04/07/2015!

Weekend Woman's Hour featured us again - and we get a whole new picture there, of a person, not Prof Bulik, in a pink jacket - I wonder if she would like to support us too? - we do include all parts of the UK!

We feature at 26:20 minutes.

#whpowerlist