RESUMEN
A 37-year-old woman developed Wernicke encephalopathy after prolonged psychogenic food refusal. MR revealed characteristic signal abnormalities in the midbrain and dorsal thalamus. Follow-up scans showed atrophy and third ventricular enlargement. Wernicke encephalopathy can occur in nonalcoholics, and MR imaging is useful in both the diagnosis and follow-up.
Asunto(s)
Trastorno Amnésico Alcohólico/etiología , Encéfalo/patología , Trastornos de Alimentación y de la Ingestión de Alimentos/complicaciones , Encefalopatía de Wernicke/etiología , Adulto , Trastorno Amnésico Alcohólico/diagnóstico , Trastornos de Alimentación y de la Ingestión de Alimentos/diagnóstico , Femenino , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Encefalopatía de Wernicke/diagnósticoRESUMEN
1. The frequent occurrence of hypothalamo-pituitary dysfunction in patients with eating disorders as well as prior reports that nutritional and endocrine status influence pituitary morphology, led us to hypothesize that pituitary size and shape may be altered in patients with eating disorders. 2. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) does not use ionizing radiation and is currently one of the most feasible modalities available to study the pituitary gland in vivo. Using MRI, we have previously reported in a preliminary study that female patients with eating disorders had significantly smaller pituitary glands than controls. In addition MRI excluded any pituitary mass lesions. 3. In this report, we confirm our previous MRI findings and provide further evidence of pituitary abnormalities in an expanded sample of eating disorder patients. Preliminary data on pituitary volume estimates from MRI scans are provided for a subset of patients and controls.
