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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Using the Activity-based Anorexia Rodent Model to Study the Neurobiological Basis of Anorexia Nervosa
Published on: October 22, 2015
[Anorexia nervosa and cerebral atrophy in adolescents]
Jesús Fleta Zaragozano1, Africa Jiménez Vidal, Mariano Velilla Picazo
1Departamento de Pediatría, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Zaragoza, Spain. jfleta@unizar.es
Background And Objective:
The incidence of cerebral atrophy in patients with anorexia nervosa and its relation to nutritional parameters has not been considered yet.
Patients And Method:
The medical records of 55 patients were reviewed. 47 of them underwent a cerebral magnetic resonance, anthropometric and nutritional study.
Results:
Cerebral atrophy was found in 10 (21.2%) out of the 47 patients studied. Those patients with cerebral atrophy showed an older age and greater percentage of weight loss than patients without atrophy (p = 0.014 and p = 0.001) but lower triceps skinfold average (p = 0.001).
Conclusions:
Cerebral atrophy is common in patients with anorexia nervosa, mainly in those with a severe weight loss and lower body fat.
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