Cranial computed tomography findings in bulimia.

In cranial computed tomography (CT), not only patients with anorexia nervosa but also patients suffering from bulimia, display enlarged external cerebrospinal fluid spaces. This was true for more than one third of the 28 bulimic patients studied, regardless of whether or not they had a past history of anorexia nervosa. As the bulimic patients had a near normal body weight, the observed structural changes cannot be attributed to underweight, as is commonly assumed to be the case in anorectic patients. These findings indicate that, in addition to underweight, other factors have to be considered as causing the morphological brain alterations present in patients with eating disorders.