Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan-Feb;30(1):26-53.
doi: 10.1080/10640266.2020.1790270. Epub 2020 Sep 29.

Neurosurgery and neuromodulation for anorexia nervosa in the 21st century: a systematic review of treatment outcomes

Stuart B Murray  1 , Michael Strober  2 , Reza Tadayonnejad  2 , Ausaf A Bari  3 , Jamie D Feusner  2
Affiliations

Neurosurgery and neuromodulation for anorexia nervosa in the 21st century: a systematic review of treatment outcomes

Stuart B Murray et al. Eat Disord. 2022 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

As current psychosocial and pharmacological interventions show limited efficacy in the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN), interest in the potential value of neurosurgical intervention and neuromodulation in managing severe and enduring illness has grown. We conducted a systematic review of 20 trials of neurosurgical and neuromodulatory treatments for AN, including neurosurgical ablation, deep brain stimulation (DBS), repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Overall, there is evidence to support the role of stereotactic ablation and DBS in the treatment of AN. In contrast, results for rTMS and tDCS have been modest and generally more mixed. Neurosurgical treatment may offer important new avenues for the treatment of AN. Additional randomized clinical trials with comparable patient populations will be needed, in which change in affective, cognitive, and perceptual symptom phenomena, and interrogation of targeted circuits, pre- and post-intervention, are carefully documented.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest

SBM reports royalties from Routledge and Oxford University Press.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flowchart of study selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abelson JL, Curtis GC, Sagher O, Albucher RC, Harrigan M, & Giordani B (2005). Deep brain stimulation for refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 57(5), 510–516. 10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.11.042 - DOI - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition.
    1. Anderson RJ, Frye MA, Abulseoud OA, Lee KH, McGillivray JA, Berk M, … Tye SJ (2012). Deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: Efficacy, safety and mechanisms of action. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(8), 1920–1933. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.06.001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arcelus J, Mitchell AJ, Wales J, & Nielsen S (2011). Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders: A meta-analysis of 36 studies. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(7), 724–731. 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bailer UF, Frank GK, Henry SE, Price JC, Meltzer CC, & Kaye WH (2005). Altered brain serotonin 5-HT1A receptor binding after recovery from anorexia nervosa measured by positron emission tomography and [carbonyl11C]WAY-100635. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(9), 1032–1041. 10.1001/archpsyc.62.9.1032 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types