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The effect of neuroendocrine secretion on brain morphology and EEG sleep in patients with eating disorders

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Summary

Neuroendocrine disturbances [low plasma levels of triiodothyronine (T3), high plasma concentrations of cortisol], morphological brain alterations [enlarged external cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces, dilatation of the ventricles] and altered sleep patterns [fragmented sleep continuity, a reduction of slow wave sleep (SWS) or REM sleep] have been described in patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The present study investigates to what degree these disturbances interact with each other. In ten anorexic and five bulimic patients cranial computed tomography (CT) to estimate the size of the CSF spaces, blood sampling to measure cortisol and T3 plasma concentrations, and all-night polysomnography were performed. In comparison with patients with normal CT scans, the patients displaying enlarged CSF spaces spent more time in SWS, and the duration of REM sleep was reduced. In the whole sample, a negative correlation was found between the amount of REM sleep and cortisol, whereas a positive association was found between the amount of REM sleep and the T3 level. In addition, the degree of brain shrinkage correlated positively with cortisol and negatively with T3. On the basis of these results, it can be assumed that in patients with eating disorders the disease process with its neuroendocrine alterations affects brain morphology as well as EEG sleep.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Freiburg, Haupstrasse 5, D-7800, Freiburg, Germany

    Christoph Lauer, Florian Holsboer & Jürgen-Christian Krieg

  2. Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany

    Christoph Lauer, Wolfgang Schreiber, Mathias Berger, Karl-Martin Pirke & Jürgen-Christian Krieg

  3. Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany

    Mathias Berger

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  1. Christoph Lauer
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  2. Wolfgang Schreiber
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  3. Mathias Berger
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  4. Karl-Martin Pirke
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  5. Florian Holsboer
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  6. Jürgen-Christian Krieg
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Lauer, C., Schreiber, W., Berger, M. et al. The effect of neuroendocrine secretion on brain morphology and EEG sleep in patients with eating disorders. Eur Arch Psychiatr Neurol Sci 238, 208–212 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381467

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381467

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