Regional cerebral blood flow in weight-restored anorexia nervosa: a preliminary study

Twenty-one individuals (19 females, two males) with teenage-onset anorexia nervosa (AN), 19 of whom were weight restored, were assessed using single-p hoton emission computed tomography (SPECT) 7 years after onset of AN, at a mean age of 22 years. For comparison we recruited a younger group without n europsychiatric disorder (mean age 9:8 years; five females, four males) who underwent SPECT at follow-up after an operation for coarctation of the aor ta or because of lymphatic leukaemia. Ethical considerations precluded the study of regional cerebral blood how (rCBF) in participants with completely normal development. The group with AN showed marked hypoperfusion of tempo ral, parietal, occipital, and orbitofrontal lobes compared to the contrast group. rCBF was not correlated to body mass index in any of the groups. Res ults suggest that, even long after re-feeding has occurred, AN may be assoc iated with moderate to severe cerebral blood how hypoperfusion in the tempo roparietal (or temporoparietooccipital) region and in the orbitofrontal reg ion. A limitation of the study is that the young contrast group in this stu dy could be expected to have a higher global rCBF than the group with AN. H owever, this should not significantly affect the relative values used in th is study.