Structural brain differences in recovering and weight-recovered adult outpatient women with anorexia nervosa

Journal of Eating Disorders

Virendra Mishra¹  Carrie J. McAdams²  Sina Aslan²  Brooks B. Brodrick²  Jayme M. Palka²  Adrienne L. Adler-Neal² 

[1] Advance MRI LLC;Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center;

关键词: Eating disorders;    Social cognition;    Anorexia nervosa;    Autism;    Depression;    Anxiety;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40337-021-00466-w

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Plain English summary Anorexia nervosa is a life-threatening mental illness defined in part by an inability to maintain a body weight in the normal range. Malnutrition and low weight are factors typically present in the anorexia nervosa and can affect brain structure. We conducted a detailed analysis of brain structure using Freesurfer, focusing on regional cortical thicknesses, areas, and volumes, in adult outpatient women with anorexia nervosa. The study included both a partially weight-restored cohort with anorexia nervosa, a cohort sustaining a healthy body weight with history of anorexia nervosa, and a healthy comparison cohort. Reduced cortical thicknesses were observed in eight regions, primarily in the frontal lobe and cingulate for the cohort recently with anorexia nervosa but only one frontal region in the weight-maintained cohort. These data emphasize the importance of sustained weight-restoration for adult women with anorexia nervosa. Further, the impacted neural regions have been associated with impulsivity, attention, self-regulation, and social interactions in other clinical cohorts, suggesting that these neuropsychological processes may warrant study in patients recovering from anorexia nervosa. Future work should consider whether these factors have clinical relevance in the outpatient treatment of adults with anorexia nervosa.

【 授权许可】

Unknown