Strep Infection May Cause One Type Of Anorexia

Some cases of anorexia nervosa in youngsters may come on suddenly after a case of "strep" throat or other infection, suggests a study in the August issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

 Antibiotics may be useful in the treatment and prevention of these infection-triggered cases of anorexia, writes child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Mae S. Sokol of the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. Dr. Sokol reports on three adolescents with anorexia nervosa that suddenly started or worsened around the time of streptococcal or other infection.

 One teenage boy developed anorexia after a bad case of strep throat. His eating disorder decreased while he was taking antibiotics prescribed for a sinus infection. When the antibiotics were finished, the anorexia returned. The patient was put back on antibiotics, and he improved again.

 This patient was treated with long-term antibiotics to prevent infections and had no further episodes of anorexia. In the other two patients reported, both the infection and anorexia got better on their own.

full text - Antibiotics and Anorexia Nervosa