Body composition studies, when based on two-compartment volumetric estimates, can hardly assess nutritional states. Phase-sensitive impedance analysis can be used to reflect directly the proportions between intra- and extracellular spaces (ECM/BCM), which is one of the most sensitive indexes of malnutrition. Resistance and reactance values actually measured with BIA are referred to as the series RC model; however, due to the morphology of the FFM, which is composed of cells surrounded by interstitial fluids, in reality this should be modeled as a parallel RC circuit. A nomogram developed with series-to-parallel transformations of resistance and reactance measured with commercial BIA on controls and patients shows interesting gender and disease sensitivity and specificity.

Phase-sensitive impedance analysis in association with anthropometric parameters provides adequate body composition estimates in nephropathic subjects, with complex three-compartment modelling as a reference. Extracellular fluid shifts can be detected during ultrafiltration by phase sensitive impedance analyzers. Rough impedance parameters such as Reactance and Phase Angle have been normalized with large series of data collected from reference populations and a bioelectric nomogram, termed Biagram, is proposed to assess the normality between Extracellular and Intracellular spaces, without the need of anthropometric parameters such as Height and Weight.

Hemispheric function was assessed in 22 restricting anorexia nervosa (AN) female subjects and 22 normal female controls. Two verbal and two visuospatial tasks and a set of psychopathological tests were administered. The failure of the "classic" lateralization tests to reveal the expected left hemisphere dominance or a right hemisphere deficit in AN group, as compared to controls, is counterbalanced by the tendency of the psychopathological tests to prove the neuropsychological hypothesis of the present study. Neuropsychological interpretation of psychopathological data, however, does not constitute direct evidence and so further studies and more sophisticated techniques are needed.