[Anorexia nervosa in adolescents]

We have made a revision of our casuistics, according DSM-III-R, between 1968 and 1988, of 53 cases. The ages go between 10 and 21 years, being the more frequent those from 13 to 15 years old. In the sample 5 males stand out. The most common symptomatology in the course of the disease was in its first phase: "prudent child", irritability or obsessions. In the second phase dominated phobias, obsessions, irritability, agitation and anxiety. And in the third phase we found more often: passiveness, inhibition, phobias and obsessions. As regards the treatment, individual psychotherapy was practised in 42 out of the 53 cases, with an evident improvement of personality. The environmental separation, circumstance we considered essential though not sufficient to cure the disease, was put in practice in 39 of the cases. And the biological treatment, generally through antidepressives, was administered to 44 patients, some of whom took more than one medication during the course of the treatment. The evolution was positive in 35 out of the 53 cases. Fifteen abandoned the treatment; and one suffered from a psychotic depression and the other two did not follow the recommended environmental separation.