The behavioural literature in anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorders has indicated an overlap in cognitive profiles. One such domain is the enhancement of local processing over global processing. While functional imaging studies of autism spectrum disorder have revealed differential neural patterns compared to controls in response to tests of local versus global processing, no studies h...

The clinical manifestations of zinc deficiency and anorexia nervosa are remarkably similar, and a number of studies have demonstrated that there may be a positive correlation between zinc therapy and the rate of recovery of anorexia nervosa patients. However, because of the different interpretations of the results of these studies, the use of zinc supplementation varies. This article examines t...

Anorexia nervosa is a primary behavioural disorder characterised by a disturbed sense of body image, a morbid fear of gaining weight, disturbed eating pattern, marked weight loss and amenorrhea. It usually affects adolescent women (95%).1 Medical complications of anorexia nervosa can involve all organic systems of the body.2'3 A rare complication is spontaneous pneumomediastinum, with only a fe...

BACKGROUND Previous research in patients with anorexia nervosa showed heightened brain response during a taste reward conditioning task and heightened sensitivity to rewarding and punishing stimuli. Here we tested the hypothesis that individuals recovered from anorexia nervosa would also experience greater brain activation during this task as well as higher sensitivity to salient stimuli than c...

The purpose of this study was to assess characteristics of individuals who died from anorexia nervosa by assessing the frequency with which anorexia nervosa is listed as a causal factor related to the death of individuals in the USA. Data from over 10 million death records (all National Center for Health Statistic registered deaths in the USA for 1986-90) were examined for mention of anorexia n...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to compare heart abnormalities in young women with anorexia nervosa and in a control group of the same age and sex. Patients and method. We report a matched case-control study of 30 adolescents with anorexia nervosa and 30 healthy women of the same age with normal weight. An electrocardiogram and echocardiogram were done. Heart paramet...

BACKGROUND The long-term outcome of anorexia nervosa is insufficiently researched. AIMS To study prospectively the long-term outcome and prognostic factors in a representative sample of people with teenage-onset anorexia nervosa. METHOD Fifty-one people with anorexia nervosa, recruited by community screening and with a mean age at onset of 14 years were compared with 51 matched comparison i...

I read with interest the recent article on cardiac disorders in young women with anorexia nervosa by Vázquez et al.1 I was surprised, however, that the authors made no mention of mitral valve prolapse. The association of mitral valve prolapse with anorexia nervosa has been known for a long time.2-9 Taking into account the pathophysiology of mitral valve prolapse makes it easy to understand this...

BACKGROUND Anorexia nervosa, but not bulimia nervosa, has one of the highest mortality rates among psychiatric disorders. However, potential predictors of mortality, such as comorbid psychiatric illnesses, remain unclear. We sought to determine mortality ratios and predictors of fatal outcome in women diagnosed as having anorexia or bulimia nervosa. METHODS Women (N = 246) diagnosed as having...

A 20 year old woman with anorexia nervosa and severe weight loss developed extensive necrotizing colitis after being admitted to hospital for stabilization of her weight. Necrotizing colitis with anorexia nervosa has been reported previously. We report a second case. We believe necrotizing colitis is a true complication of anorexia nervosa and should be considered in the differential diagnosis ...