Pica (Eating Non-Nutrient Foods)
Pica (/ˈpaɪkə/ PIE-kuh) is a psychological disorder characterized by an appetite for substances that are largely non-nutritive. The substance may be biological such as hair (trichophagia) or feces (coprophagia), natural such as ice (pagophagia) or dirt (geophagia), and otherwise chemical or manmade (as listed below).
Cluster Number:
Wiki Number: PW169
Diagnosis: Pica (Eating Non-Nutrient Foods)
US Patients:
World Patients:
Sex Ratio:
Age Onset: pregnant women, small children, people with developmental disabilities
Brain Area:
Symptoms: Eating non-nutritives such as heair, feces, ice, dirt, lead paint, starch or man-made items.
Progression: autistics or children with lower intelligence, dietary mineral deficiencies may be involved
Causes: fewer red cells or zinc than normal in the blood;obsessive-compulsive disorder or schizophrenia have also been proposed
Medications: if needed, treat for iron or other dietary deficiencies;
Therapies: Training and reinforcement on what are appropriate foods if user has normal intelligence.
Youtube Video:
Eat Chalk? Watch This!!!
Youtube Video:
Eating Disorder in Children
Amazon Book: Pica Eating (Kindle Only)
Click the book to link or order from Amazon.
Support Group: neda.org; 800-9311-2237
(National Eating Disorders Associations)
4 CURRENT ARTICLES
FROM PUBMED
The world-wide medical research
reports chosen for each diagnosis
Clicking each title opens the
PubMed article’s summary-abstract.
- Exploring the Human Health Impact of Artificial Turf Worldwide: A Systematic Reviewby Sebastian Ryan-Ndegwa on December 19, 2024
The growing use of artificial turf in place of natural turf in residential, recreational and commercial settings has raised concerns regarding its potential impact on human health. A systematic review of databases revealed 5673 articles of which, 30 were deemed eligible. Those performing total concentration analyses, bioaccessibility analyses or human health risk assessments (HHRAs) of artificial turf fibres or crumb rubber infill were of interest. Health hazards and risks were explored in...
- Recognition of Predator Type and Risk Level in Azure-Winged Magpies (Cyanopica cyanus) Through Visual and Auditory Cuesby Taijun Zuo on December 18, 2024
Predation events are an important key factor determining the survival and reproduction of prey species. To cope, prey species have evolved various anti-predator strategies, including mechanisms for accurate predator identification and distinguishing predator types and risk levels. Birds rely on visual, auditory, and olfactory cues to perceive and categorize predators. However, previous studies have focused on single sensory modalities and have largely been conducted during breeding seasons....
- 6-Shogaol attenuates cisplatin induced emesis by inhibiting the mtDNA-cGAS-STING signaling pathway in a rat pica modelby Shaojun Kan on December 18, 2024
CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that 6-shogaol has a therapeutic effect against chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), potentially attributable to the suppression of the mtDNA-cGAS-STING signaling pathway.
- Zinc Ameliorates High Pi and Ca-Mediated Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cellsby Enikő Balogh on December 17, 2024
Zinc is the second most abundant trace element in the human body, stored mainly in the bones. Zinc is required for bone growth and homeostasis and is also a crucial cofactor for numerous proteins that play key roles in maintaining microstructural integrity and bone remodeling. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are multipotent progenitors found in the bone marrow stroma and can differentiate along multiple lineage pathways. In this study, we investigated the effect of zinc on the...