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While it is known that anorexia nervosa can have devastating effects on the human body, a recent study reveals that eyes can suffer significant eye damage as well. The study was published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. The study involved 13 women with anorexia nervosa and 20 women in good health of the same age. The average age was 28 and the women with anorexia had their condition for an average of 10 years. Those conducting the study evaluated the thickness of the macula and its electrical activity in both eyes. The tests that were conducted showed that there were no obvious visual problems in both sets of the women and that the eyes were functioning normally. But what researchers did discover is that the macula and the nerve layers feeding it were notably thinner in the eyes of the women with anorexia nervosa. In addition, there was much less firing of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the eyes of the women with anorexia nervosa. What remains unclear is whether the macular thinning and decreased neurotransmitter activity are the beginnings of progressive blindness or if things will return to normal when normal eating behaviors are started again.* Andrea Schumann Staff Writer