Dr. Lorenzo Bracco’s Theory:
“conditio sine qua non” for the Anorexia of the Female Adolescent
inclusion criteria in anorexic girls’ group and in control group
Dr. Bracco’s Theory about Anorexia of the Female Adolescent is:
different blood type mother/daughter
+ blood contact between the two during pregnancy and/or birth
= “Conditio sine qua non” for Anorexia of the Female Adolescent
There is a general agreement that the causes of Anorexia of the Female Adolescent are connected with disfunctional:
- relationship with herself
- mutual mother/daughter relationship
- mutual father/daughter relationship
- mutual relationship between the girl and the environment surrounding her
- eating habits of the family
- affective and emotional communication between the family members
The conditio sine qua non (necessary but not sufficient condition)
+ The causes of anorexia, that perturb the character and existential aspects of the girl
= open the door to Anorexia
Dr. Bracco’s inclusion criteria in the group of anorexic girls and their mothers and the control group of non-anorexic girls and their mothers:
It is very important for research to define with precision the two groups:
- the group of anorexic girls and their mothers
- the control group of non-anorexic girls and their mothers.
In my 24 years of experience and study about anorexia I have become aware of the many traps in which we can fall when we define the sample inaccurately, with the result of invalidating the research.
I think that we have to be very clear on my inclusion criteria of anorexic girls in the Anorexia of the Female Adolescent group, in order to exclude the other kind of anorexia that is Anorexia Independent of Age (and Sex). This second kind of anorexia may occur at any age, and it absolutely does not depend on the blood type difference between mother and fetus. This is clearly explained in my book “ANOREXIA The Real Causes: Blood Types and Trauma”.
In the following text, I will write the items of the guidelines in bold.
My inclusion criteria for girl in the Anorexia group of the Female Adolescent are:
- Extreme weight loss
- Loss of the menstrual cycle for more than three months (this occurs in a period close to the first menstrual cycle, within a maximum of three years)
- No major trauma, such as the death of a parent, before the onset of anorexia (which could be the source of burnout and depression and consequently of Anorexia Independent of Age and Sex)
ANOREXIA OF THE FEMALE ADOLESCENT is the most important (about 90%) and the most dangerous kind of anorexia. This anorexia arises in females during adolescence and can also relapse over the course of life.
This kind of anorexia strikes societies and social classes where the variety and quantity of food can be abundant.
Anorexia of the Female Adolescent manifests itself precisely during the phase of a young woman’s blossoming femininity and fertility. The fertility of the girl begins with the menarche. After some cycles, anorexia may arise.
There is a temporal connection between the first menstrual cycle (menarche) and the interruption of the menstrual cycle (amenorrhea) due to Anorexia of the Female Adolescent. The passage from menarche to amenorrhea due to Anorexia of the Female Adolescent may take more than three months up to a few years.
To be sure to include only the girls suffering from Anorexia of the Female Adolescent in the group, we need to set a maximum three-year timeframe from menarche to amenorrhea (due to Anorexia of the Female Adolescent).
ANOREXIA INDEPENDENT OF AGE AND SEX may be a symptom or consequence of: chemotherapy, some types of cancer, some diseases, some hormonal disorders, burnout, depression.
Depression and burnout often manifest themselves after a period of extreme stress also during childhood, adolescence and adulthood in response to a failed attempt to seek acceptance within the family or from society where an individual may feel unloved.
Depression can also manifest itself as a result of an experience of exclusion a person has suffered, like a separation from one’s family, divorce, work termination, retirement, etc…
This depression can assume particularly serious aspects and can be cause of eating disorders.
Most times these eating disorders take the form of an excessive consumption of food as a person seeks comfort and compensation for lack of affection.
Other times, however, these eating disorders can involve an insufficient food intake, which can potentially develop into anorexia especially when an individual is so embittered that he or she no longer has the will to live.
To take care of this type of anorexia we must treat the causes or situations of which it is a symptom or a consequence. Anorexia Independent of Age and Sex usually responds relatively well to pharmacological therapy, while Anorexia of the Female Adolescent doesn’t react to pharmacological therapy.
My inclusion criteria for girl in the control group of non-anorexic girls:
- Girls with a regular presence of the menstrual cycle whose menarche (first menstrual cycle) dates back to more than four years
- Absence of Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Both groups are constituted by the daughters and their mothers:
1) the group of anorexic girls and their mothers
2) the control group of non-anorexic girls and their mothers
The aim of the research is to compare the daughters’ blood type with that of their mothers. So each daughter must match a mother, while there may be a mother to whom several daughters are.
There is a general agreement that the mother/daughter relationship is a very important element in the Anorexia of the Female Adolescent.
For this reason it is important that the two samples are homogeneous about the mother/daughter relationship on a crucial point: the girl must be the biological daughter of the mother.
It also makes no sense to talk about mother/daughter biological alarm due to different blood type mother/daughter + blood contact between the two during pregnancy and/or birth if the girl is not the biological daughter of the one she considers her mother.
Hence, both research groups must exclude daughters living in a context in which the maternal figure is covered by another person who is not the biological mother. We are talking about, for example, adoptive family, the family where the biological mother is completely replaced by the father’s new partner because he is divorced or widowed, uterus for rent, etc.
The information that the maternal reference figure is also the biological mother should be taken by asking the mother and not the daughter because the girl may not know it, and anyway such a question could instill a destabilizing doubt on the girl.
If there is a girl in the research sample who in the interview with her mother we find that she is not her biological daughter, we do not reject the girl because she would be destabilizing for her, but her data and those of her maternal reference figure are excluded from the sample.
Each person, mother and daughter of both groups, the group of anorexic girls and the control group, have to exhibit the blood type test.
The blood type test must be certified by a laboratory (by the hospital where the girl was born, blood donors can be certified by the Blood Donors Association) or tested by an absolutely qualified person (eg: the researcher, or a nurse, or the Psychiatry Service , etc…).
FAQ
– I have one specific question; for control participants, will we need to find out their mothers blood types?
Yes, we need to find out the blood types of girls and of their mothers. Let me tell you better: we have to test the blood type of anorexic girls and their mothers, and we also have to test the blood type of the daughters and their mothers in the control group.
– I have suggested we use the home blood type kits to do this and the mothers would not have to be present at the meeting to do it. Is it correct?
We can not present as reliable the typing of blood types tested at home by an unskilled person, in this case the mother, and furthermore implicated in research. The reliability of test of blood types must be absolute, otherwise it will invalid the search. The blood type test must be certified by a laboratory (by the hospital where the girl was born, blood donors can be certified by the Blood Donors Association) or by an absolutely qualified person (eg: the researcher, or a nurse, or the Psychiatry Service , etc…)
– Do you think the mothers still have to be listed as participants?
Yes, all mothers, those in the anorexia group and those in the control group, as well as all girls, those in the anorexia group and those in the control group, must be listed as participants.
Doctor Lorenzo Bracco
Medical Doctor
Specialist in Physiatry
Psychotherapist
Email lorenzobracco4@gmail.com
www.ecologicalnichediet.com