Anorexia could be determined by exposure to sex hormones in the womb, reported The Times on New Year’s Eve. The female sex hormone oestrogen “may be overproduced by some mothers, affecting the baby’s brain and making it susceptible to the eating disorder”, the newspaper said.
The newspaper reports are based on research into twins that has found that, although anorexia occurs more often in females than males, when they looked at twin pairs of different sexes, males who had shared the womb with a female were ten times more likely to develop anorexia in later life than if they had been in the womb with another male. However, anorexia is a complex psychological condition, and this research cannot prove that the higher rate of anorexia amongst girls, and boys of mixed twin pregnancies, is caused by higher exposure to sex hormones in the womb, and not by a number of other genetic, environmental or social factors.
Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning. This may include problems with: memory loss thinking speed mental sharpness and quickness language understanding judgement mood movement difficulties carrying out daily activities There are many different causes of dementia. People often get confused about the difference between Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia and, together with vascular dementia, makes up the vast majority of cases. People with dementia can become apathetic or uninterested in their usual activities, or may have problems controlling their emotions. They may also find social situations challenging and lose interest in socialising. Aspects of their personality may change. A person with dementia may lose empathy (understanding and compassion), they may see or hear things that other people do not (hallucinations). Because people with dementia may lose t...