Hormonal and metabolic mechanisms in the development of cerebral pseudoatrophy in eating disorders.

Cranial computed tomography (CT) examinations performed on patients with schizophrenia, affective disorders or on patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa revealed morphological brain alterations. In patients with eating disorders these structural changes were characterized by enlarged ventricles and sulci. Malnourishment-induced hormonal and metabolic disturbances may be responsible for this morphological brain alteration which, due to its reversibility after clinical remission, is frequently called 'pseudoatrophy'. As patients with alcohol dependency also display a cerebral pseudoatrophy, the search for similarities between alcoholics and patients with eating disorders may help to elucidate some of the pathogenetic factors which cause the CT findings in patients with different psychiatric or psychosomatic disorders.