Middle cluneal nerve entrapment sites in the surgical field.

INTRODUCTION: Middle cluneal nerve (MCN) entrapment around the sacroiliac joint elicits low back pain (LBP). For surgical decompression to be successful, the course of the MCN must be known. We retrospectively studied the MCN course in 15 patients who had undergone MCN neurolysis. METHODS: Enrolled in this retrospective study were 15 patients (18 sides). We inspected their surgical records and videos to determine the course of the entrapped MCN. The area between the posterior superior- and the posterior inferior iliac spine was divided into areas A-D from the rostral side. The MCN transit points were identified at the midline and the lateral edge connecting the posterior superior- and posterior inferior iliac spine. Before and 6 months after surgery, the patients recorded the degree of LBP on the numerical rating scale and the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire. RESULTS: We decompressed 24 MCNs. The mean number was 1.3 nerves per patient (range 1-2). The MCN course was oblique in the cranio-caudal direction; the nerve tended to be observed in areas C and D. In six patients (40%), we detected two MCN branches, they were in the same area and adjacent. Postoperatively, LBP was improved significantly in all patients. CONCLUSION: Between the posterior superior- and the posterior inferior iliac spine, the MCN ran obliquely in the cranio-caudal direction; it was prominent in areas on the caudal side. In six (40%) patients, we decompressed two adjacent MCNs. Our findings are useful for MCN decompression surgery.

Comprehensive elucidation of resting-state functional connectivity in anorexia nervosa by a multicenter cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Previous research on the changes in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in anorexia nervosa (AN) has been limited by an insufficient sample size, which reduced the reliability of the results and made it difficult to set the whole brain as regions of interest (ROIs). METHODS: We analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 114 female AN patients and 135 healthy controls (HC) and obtained self-reported psychological scales, including eating disorder examination questionnaire 6.0. One hundred sixty-four cortical, subcortical, cerebellar, and network parcellation regions were considered as ROIs. We calculated the ROI-to-ROI rsFCs and performed group comparisons. RESULTS: Compared to HC, AN patients showed 12 stronger rsFCs mainly in regions containing dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and 33 weaker rsFCs primarily in regions containing cerebellum, within temporal lobe, between posterior fusiform cortex and lateral part of visual network, and between anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and thalamus (p < 0.01, false discovery rate [FDR] correction). Comparisons between AN subtypes showed that there were stronger rsFCs between right lingual gyrus and right supracalcarine cortex and between left temporal occipital fusiform cortex and medial part of visual network in the restricting type compared to the binge/purging type (p < 0.01, FDR correction). CONCLUSION: Stronger rsFCs in regions containing mainly DLPFC, and weaker rsFCs in regions containing primarily cerebellum, within temporal lobe, between posterior fusiform cortex and lateral part of visual network, and between ACC and thalamus, may represent categorical diagnostic markers discriminating AN patients from HC.

Paralumbar Spine Disease as a Cause of Low Back Pain in Older Adults.

Introduction Low back pain (LBP) is a major contributor to decreases in the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) in older adults. Paralumbar spine disease (PLSD) is a common cause of LBP. We aimed to investigate the causes of LBP, including PLSD, among older adults. Methods Among 744 consecutive patients with LBP, 75 patients (10.1%) aged >80 years (25 males and 50 females) were included. The average patient age was 83.9 years. All patients were evaluated using lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and radiography to diagnose the causes of LBP. PLSD was diagnosed based on clinical symptoms, palpation, and the effects of the block. Results Eleven patients (11/75, 14.7%) had acute osteoporotic vertebral fractures. Twenty-eight of the remaining 64 patients exhibited decreased LBP with oral medication, and six (6/75, 8.0%) exhibited lumbar spinal canal stenosis on MRI. PLSD was suspected in 19 of the remaining 30 cases based on clinical symptoms and palpation. Blocks were effective in 16 patients with PLSD, which involved superior cluneal nerve entrapment (SCN-E) in eight patients (10.7%), middle cluneal nerve entrapment (MCN-E) in nine patients (12.0%), sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain in five patients (6.7%), and gluteus medius muscle (GMeM) pain in three patients (4.0%). The average numerical rating scale (NRS) scores for pain changed from 7.5 ± 1.5 before treatment to 1.3 ± 0.9 at discharge (p < 0.05). Conclusion Osteoporotic acute vertebral fracture (14.7%) was identified as the cause of LBP in older adults. Block therapy for PLSD may aid in the diagnosis and treatment of non-specific LBP.

Associations of conservatism and jumping to conclusions biases with aberrant salience and default mode network.

AIM: While conservatism bias refers to the human need for more evidence for decision-making than rational thinking expects, the jumping to conclusions (JTC) bias refers to the need for less evidence among individuals with schizophrenia/delusion compared to healthy people. Although the hippocampus-midbrain-striatal aberrant salience system and the salience, default mode (DMN), and frontoparietal networks ("triple networks") are implicated in delusion/schizophrenia pathophysiology, the associations between conservatism/JTC and these systems/networks are unclear. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with schizophrenia and 33 healthy controls performed the beads task, with large and small numbers of bead draws to decision (DTD) indicating conservatism and JTC, respectively. We performed independent component analysis (ICA) of resting functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. For systems/networks above, we investigated interactions between diagnosis and DTD, and main effects of DTD. We similarly applied ICA to structural and diffusion MRI to explore the associations between DTD and gray/white matter. RESULTS: We identified a significant main effect of DTD with functional connectivity between the striatum and DMN, which was negatively correlated with delusion severity in patients, indicating that the greater the anti-correlation between these networks, the stronger the JTC and delusion. We further observed the main effects of DTD on a gray matter network resembling the DMN, and a white matter network connecting the functional and gray matter networks (all P < 0.05, family-wise error [FWE] correction). Function and gray/white matter showed no significant interactions. CONCLUSION: Our results support the novel association of conservatism and JTC biases with aberrant salience and default brain mode.

Estimating the joint association of adverse childhood experiences and asthma with subsequent depressive symptoms: a marginal structural modelling approach.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depression risk has been well documented. However, it remains unclear whether stress-related chronic conditions associated with ACEs, such as asthma, increase the long-term mental health burden of ACEs. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the joint association of ACEs and asthma with subsequent depressive symptoms among US adults. METHODS: This study used data from the Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System 2010, including 21 544 participants over 18 years old from four states where participants were questioned about ACEs. We used logistic regression models to calculate the adjusted OR (aOR) for elevated depressive symptoms evaluated by Patient Health Questionnaire-8 according to ACEs and asthma, along with marginal structural models (MSM) to consider ACE-related confounders between asthma and depression. We evaluated the additive interaction between ACEs and asthma on depressive symptoms with the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). FINDINGS: Of the 21 544 participants (mean age: 56, women: 59.5%), 52.3% reported ≥1 ACEs, 14.9% reported a history of asthma and 4.0% had depressive symptoms. ACEs and asthma were independently associated with elevated depressive symptoms (aORs (95% CI) were 2.85 (2.30 to 3.55) and 2.24 (1.50 to 3.27), respectively). Furthermore, our MSM revealed an additive interaction between ACEs and asthma for depressive symptoms (RERI (95% CI)=+1.63 (0.54 to 2.71)). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that asthma amplifies the risk of depressive symptoms associated with ACEs. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Prevention and treatment of asthma, along with establishing preventive environments and services against ACEs, are effective in mitigating the potential burden of ACEs on mental health.

Systematic reduction of gray matter volume in anorexia nervosa, but relative enlargement with clinical symptoms in the prefrontal and posterior insular cortices: a multicenter neuroimaging study.

Although brain morphological abnormalities have been reported in anorexia nervosa (AN), the reliability and reproducibility of previous studies were limited due to insufficient sample sizes, which prevented exploratory analysis of the whole brain as opposed to regions of interest (ROIs). Objective was to identify brain morphological abnormalities in AN and the association with severity of AN by brain structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a multicenter study, and to conduct exploratory analysis of the whole brain. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional multicenter study using T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) data collected between May 2014 and February 2019 in Japan. We analyzed MRI data from 103 female AN patients (58 anorexia nervosa restricting type [ANR] and 45 anorexia nervosa binge-purging type [ANBP]) and 102 age-matched female healthy controls (HC). MRI data from five centers were preprocessed using the latest harmonization method to correct for intercenter differences. Gray matter volume (GMV) was calculated from T1WI data of all participants. Of the 205 participants, we obtained severity of eating disorder symptom scores from 179 participants, including 87 in the AN group (51 ANR, 36 ANBP) and 92 HC using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) 6.0. GMV reduction were observed in the AN brain, including the bilateral cerebellum, middle and posterior cingulate gyrus, supplementary motor cortex, precentral gyrus medial segment, and thalamus. In addition, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and posterior insula volumes showed positive correlations with severity of symptoms. This multicenter study was conducted with a large sample size to identify brain morphological abnormalities in AN. The findings provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of AN and have potential for the development of brain imaging biomarkers of AN. Trial Registration: UMIN000017456. https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/icdr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000019303 .

Long-term outcome after surgery for middle cluneal nerve entrapment neuropathy.

PURPOSE: Entrapment of the middle cluneal nerve (MCN-E) can elicit low back pain (LBP). Patients whose LBP responds only transiently to the analgesic effects of MCN blockage may be candidates for surgery. This study addresses its long-term efficacy. METHODS: We initially subjected 34 MCN-E patients (48 sides) to surgical release. Of these, 4 were excluded from this study because their follow-up was shorter than 24 months. The mean age of the 30 included patients was 71.5 years; the mean postoperative follow-up period was 40.4 months. Clinical outcomes were assessed on the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for LBP and the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) before surgery and at the latest follow-up visit. RESULTS: The 30 patients (44 sides) reported severe LBP, leg symptoms were elicited by 32 sides. A mean of 1.4 MCN branches were surgically released, 32 sides were addressed by neurolysis, 7 by neurectomy, and 5 underwent both procedures due to the presence of 2 nerve branches. There were no complications. In the course of a mean follow-up of 26.3 months, MCN-E elicited recurrent symptoms on 6 sides; all had undergone neurolysis or neurectomy and a second operation improved the symptoms. All patients showed significant improvement at the last follow-up visit. Postoperatively both their NRS for LBP and their RDQ scores were improved (pre- vs. postoperative scores, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: While surgical release of MCN-E is expected to yield long-term symptom relief, on 6 of 32 sides (18.8%) treated by neurolysis the patients reported pain recurrence. Whether neurectomy effectively prevents the recurrence of MCN-E in the long term requires further study.

Impact of Dynamic Change of Meandering of Parallel Artery to the Idiopathic Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome.

In idiopathic tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS), walking seems to make symptoms worse. The findings imply that an ankle movement dynamic component may have an impact on the etiology of idiopathic TTS. We describe how the ankle movement affects the nerve compression caused by the surround tissue, particularly the posterior tibial artery. We enrolled 8 cases (15 sides) that had TTS surgery after tarsal tunnel (TT) MRI preoperatively. Dorsiflexion and plantar flexion were the two separate ankle positions used for the T2* fat suppression 3D and MR Angiography of TT. Based on these findings, we looked at how the two different ankle positions affected the posterior tibial artery's ability to compress the nerve. Additionally, we assessed the posterior tibial artery's distorted angle. We divided the region around the TT into four sections: proximal and distal to the TT and proximal half and distal half to the TT. Major compression cause was posterior tibial artery. Most severe compression point was proximal half in the TT in all cases without one case. In each scenario, the nerve compression worsens by the plantar flexion. The angle of the twisted angle of the posterior tibial artery was significantly worsened by the plantar flexion. In idiopathic TTS, deformation of posterior tibial artery was the primary compression component. Nerve compression was exacerbated by the plantar flexion, and it was attributable with the change of the distorted angle of the posterior tibial artery. This could be a contributing factor of the deteriorating etiology by walking in idiopathic TTS.

Role of adenosine A2A receptors in hot and cold cognition: Effects of single-dose istradefylline in healthy volunteers.

The role of the adenosine neurochemical system in human cognition is under-studied, despite such receptors being distributed throughout the brain. The aim of this study was to shed light on the role of the adenosine A2A receptors in human cognition using single-dose istradefylline. Twenty healthy male participants, aged 19-49, received 20 mg istradefylline and placebo, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design. Cognition was assessed using computerized cognitive tests, covering both cold (non-emotional) and hot (emotion-laden) domains. Cardiovascular data were recorded serially. Cognitive effects of istradefylline were explored using repeated measures analysis of variance and paired t-tests as appropriate. On the EMOTICOM battery, there was a significant effect of istradefylline versus placebo on the Social Information Preference task (t = 2.50, p = 0.02, d=-0.59), indicating that subjects on istradefylline interpreted social situations more positively. No other significant effects were observed on other cognitive tasks, nor in terms of cardiovascular measures (pulse and blood pressure). De-briefing indicated that blinding was successful, both for participants and the research team. Further exploration of the role of adenosine A2A receptors in emotional processing may be valuable, given that abnormalities in related cognitive functions are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. The role of adenosine systems in human cognition requires further clarification, including with different doses of istradefylline and over different schedules of administration.

Neural correlates of a mindfulness-based intervention in anorexia nervosa.

We examined the neural underpinnings of the effects of mindfulness on anxiety in anorexia nervosa using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 21 anorexia patients. We used a functional magnetic resonance imaging task designed to induce weight-related anxiety and asked participants to regulate their anxiety either using or not using an acceptance strategy. Our results showed reduced activity in the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, putamen, caudate, orbital gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus following a mindfulness-based intervention. The present study provides new insight regarding the neural mechanisms underlying the effect of mindfulness-based intervention in ameliorating anorexia nervosa.

Assessment and Treatment of Eating Disorders.

Eating disorders are serious psychiatric conditions in terms of chronicity and have the highest mortality rate among psychiatric disorders. The assessment and treatment of eating disorders are also challenging, due to patients' denial of their illness and reluctance for change. Despite a large number of previous assessment and treatment studies, new strategies to overcome these difficulties are still needed. This study casts light on four aspects; involvement of the brain's reward system, stages of change in relationship with motivation, refeeding syndrome during renourishment, and gut microbiota changes relating to chronicity. Further studies relating to these aspects are encouraged.

Spontaneous Obliteration of a Dissecting Aneurysm of Recurrent Artery of Heubner Monitored by Serial Magnetic Resonance Vessel Wall Imaging.

Aneurysms of the recurrent artery of Heubner (RAH) are known to be one of the uncommon cerebral aneurysms, predominantly presenting with bleeding symptoms. Previously, nine cases of the RAH aneurysms have been reported, all of which were treated surgically or endovascularly and most cases developed postoperative cerebral infarct in the ipsilateral caudate nucleus. Herein, we report a man presenting with transient ischemic attack due to diffuse cerebral vasospasm from a minor non-disabling subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from an RAH aneurysm. He visited our hospital 7 days after the first experience of a thunderclap headache complaining with transient unilateral motor weakness and thin SAH in the right sylvian fissure. Diagnostic catheter angiography revealed a dissecting fusiform aneurysm (8 mm in size) originating from the left RAH contralateral to the thin SAH. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (MR-VWI) helped to identify the ruptured nature of the RAH aneurysm. Owing to his delayed ischemic condition after minor SAH, he was conservatively treated with serial MR-VWI monitoring. The aneurysm was spontaneously obliterated with an asymptomatic lacunar infarct in the ipsilateral caudate nucleus in a month. Together, this case was considered as the dissecting aneurysm of RAH with a favorable outcome after the conservative management. Although long-term follow-up is mandatory because the disappearance of the vessel wall enhancement does not necessarily secure the permanent cure of the lesion, serial MR-VWI is helpful to diagnose the ruptured nature and monitor its chronological change in combination with conventional radiological imaging techniques.

Structural brain changes in severe and enduring anorexia nervosa: A multimodal magnetic resonance imaging study of gray matter volume, cortical thickness, and white matter integrity.

Whole-brain T1-weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging was performed in 35 adult women with anorexia nervosa (AN) and 35 healthy controls. We conducted voxel-based group comparisons for gray matter volume (GMV), cortical thickness (CT), and fractional anisotropy (FA) values, using age and total intracranial volume as nuisance covariates. We then conducted the same group comparisons for these three measures, but this time also controlled for the following global pathological measures: total GMV, mean CT across the whole brain, and mean FA across the entire white matter skeleton. Compared with the healthy controls, AN patients had lower GMV and CT in widespread cortical regions, and smaller FA values in widespread white matter regions. After controlling for global parameters, almost all of the differences between the two groups disappeared, except for higher CT in the medial orbital gyrus and parietal operculum in the AN group. Structural brain changes in AN are likely to be composed of both global and region-specific changes. The former changes are likely to have a dominant impact, while the latter changes might in part explain the disease-specific pathophysiology of AN.

Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Using Cilostazol in Patients With Stroke and Intracranial Arterial Stenosis.

Background Long-term benefit of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) over single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) for the prevention of recurrent stroke has not been established in patients with intracranial arterial stenosis. We compared the efficacy and safety of DAPT with cilostazol and clopidogrel or aspirin to those of SAPT with clopidogrel or aspirin in patients with intracranial arterial stenosis, who were recruited to the Cilostazol Stroke Prevention Study for Antiplatelet Combination trial, a randomized controlled trial in high-risk Japanese patients with ischemic stroke. Methods and Results We compared the vascular and hemorrhagic events between DAPT and SAPT in patients with ischemic stroke and symptomatic or asymptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis of at least 50% in a major intracranial artery. Patients were placed in two groups: 275 were assigned to receive DAPT and 272 patients SAPT. The risks of ischemic stroke (hazard ratio [HR], 0.47; 95% CI, 0.23-0.95); and composite of stroke, myocardial infarction, and vascular death (HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.26-0.91) were lower in DAPT than SAPT, whereas the risk of severe or life-threatening bleeding (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.12-4.30) did not differ between the 2 treatment groups. Conclusions DAPT using cilostazol was superior to SAPT with clopidogrel or aspirin for the prevention of recurrent stroke and vascular events without increasing bleeding risk among patients with intracranial arterial stenosis after stroke. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01995370.

Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Using Cilostazol With Aspirin or Clopidogrel: Subanalysis of the CSPS.com Trial.

Background and Purpose: Although dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and clopidogrel reduces the recurrence of ischemic stroke while significantly increasing the bleeding events compared with monotherapy, the CSPS.com trial (Cilostazol Stroke Prevention Study combination) showed that DAPT using cilostazol was more effective without the bleeding risk. In the CSPS.com trial, aspirin or clopidogrel was used as the underlying antiplatelet drug. The effectiveness and safety of each combination were examined and clarified. Methods: In the CSPS.com trial, a multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled study, patients with high-risk, noncardioembolic ischemic stroke 8 to 180 days after onset treated with aspirin or clopidogrel alone at the discretion of the physician in charge were recruited. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either monotherapy or DAPT using cilostazol and followed for 0.5 to 3.5 years. The primary efficacy outcome was first recurrence of ischemic stroke. The safety outcome was severe or life-threatening bleeding. The analysis was based on the underlying antiplatelet agents. Results: A total of 763 patients taking aspirin and 1116 taking clopidogrel were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Although the clopidogrel group had more risk factors than the aspirin group, the primary efficacy outcome and safety outcome did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. In the aspirin group, the primary efficacy outcome and safety outcome did not differ significantly between the DAPT group and the aspirin-monotherapy group. In the clopidogrel group, the primary end point occurred at a rate of 2.31 per 100 patient-years in the DAPT group and 5.19 per 100 patient-years in the clopidogrel-monotherapy group (hazard ratio, 0.447 [95% CI, 0.258­0.774]). Safety outcome did not differ significantly between groups (0.51 per 100 patient-years versus 0.71 per 100 patient-years, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.730 [95% CI, 0.206­2.588]). Conclusions: The combination of cilostazol and clopidogrel significantly reduced the recurrence of ischemic stroke without increasing the bleeding risk in noncardioembolic, high-risk patients. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01995370. URL: https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/; Unique identifier: UMIN000012180.

The relationship between attention and avoidance coping in anorexia nervosa: functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated attentional control difficulties and high avoidance coping in patients with anorexia nervosa. Attention is a critical coping resource because it enables individuals to demonstrate self-control and complete goal-directed behaviours. AIMS: We aimed to examine whether attentional control difficulty is related to high avoidance coping, and investigate the neural underpinnings of attentional control difficulties in individuals with anorexia nervosa. METHOD: Twenty-three patients with anorexia nervosa and 17 healthy controls completed questionnaires that assessed attention and coping, and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a go/no-go task. RESULTS: Patients with anorexia nervosa showed weaker attentional control, higher omission error rates and higher avoidance coping compared with healthy controls. Attentional control difficulty was associated with higher avoidance coping in both groups. Functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis showed less deactivation in regions representing internal mental processing, such as the praecuneus, cuneus and left lingual gyrus, during the no-go condition. Moreover, weakened deactivation of the left lingual gyrus was associated with higher commission error rate in the anorexia nervosa group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that patients with anorexia nervosa may have difficulty in maintaining attention to external ongoing events because of disturbance from internal self-related thought, and support the notion that attentional control difficulties underlie the frequent use of avoidance coping in anorexia nervosa.

Middle cluneal nerve entrapment neuropathy attributable to lumbar disc herniation.

BACKGROUND: Middle cluneal nerve entrapment neuropathy (MCN-EN) is a known cause of low back pain (LBP). Here, we succeeded in treating a patient with a lumbar disc herniation who actually had MCN-EN with a nerve block and neurolysis. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 52-year-old female presented with severe left lower back and lateral thigh pain making it difficult to walk. The lumbar MRI revealed a disc herniation on the left at the L5/S1 level. On palpation, we identified a trigger point on the buttock where the MCN penetrates the long posterior sacroiliac ligament between the posterior superior and inferior iliac spine. Two left-sided MCN blocks, followed by the left MCN neurolysis procedure, were performed under local anesthesia. At the last follow-up, 10 months after surgery, the LBP has not recurred, and she requires no medications for pain control. CONCLUSION: Here, a patient with a left-sided L5S1 disc herniation and low back/leg pain was successfully treated for MCN-EN with nerve block followed by neurolysis.

Eating Disorder Neuroimaging Initiative (EDNI): a multicentre prospective cohort study protocol for elucidating the neural effects of cognitive-behavioural therapy for eating disorders.

INTRODUCTION: Anorexia nervosa is a refractory psychiatric disorder with a mortality rate of 5.9% and standardised mortality ratio of 5.35, which is much higher than other psychiatric disorders. The standardised mortality ratio of bulimia nervosa is 1.49; however, it is characterised by suicidality resulting in a shorter time to death. While there is no current validated drug treatment for eating disorders in Japan, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is a well-established and commonly used treatment. CBT is also recommended in the Japanese Guidelines for the Treatment of Eating Disorders (2012) and has been covered by insurance since 2018. However, the neural mechanisms responsible for the effect of CBT have not been elucidated, and the use of biomarkers such as neuroimaging data would be beneficial. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Eating Disorder Neuroimaging Initiative is a multisite prospective cohort study. We will longitudinally collect data from 72 patients with eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa) and 70 controls. Data will be collected at baseline, after 21-41 sessions of CBT and 12 months later. We will assess longitudinal changes in neural circuit function, clinical data, gene expression and psychological measures by therapeutic intervention and analyse the relationship among them using machine learning methods. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by The Ethical Committee of the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (A2019-072). We will obtain written informed consent from all patients who participate in the study after they had been fully informed about the study protocol. All imaging, demographic and clinical data are shared between the participating sites and will be made publicly available in 2024. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UMIN000039841.