Morphological and microstructural modulation of Hypothalamic nuclei by eating disorder. A 7T MRI study

Motivation: The key structure for maintaining energy balance is the hypothalamus (HT), a small structure organized in multiple nuclei difficult to individualize with MR imaging. Goal(s): To study in vivo the modulation in Obesity and Anorexia Nervosa of morphometry and microstructure of HT nuclei involved in food networks. Approach: Characterization of T1 and volumes of HT nuclei (Neudorfer atlas) of 28 young women (13 Controls, 7 AN, 8O) using 3D-MP2RAGE 7T MRI. Results: Differences in T1 values and volumes were observed in Obese and AN in HT nuclei involved in food networks (bilateral AN, left PVN)Impact: Quantitative high resolution T1 MRI at 7T allows to characterize the morpho-structural modulation of HT nuclei involved in food networks in obesity and AN. These biomarkers may have a crucial role to monitor adaptation of food networks during therapeutic interventions.