Pharmacotherapy of eating disorders reviewed.

2003 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "The purpose of this review is to discuss pharmacological options for the treatment of patients with eating disorders. Sequentially described are pharmaco-therapy studies of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge-eating disorder (BED)," scientists in the United States report.

"The quantity of drug trials performed with AN patients has been very limited," said Kristine J. Pederson and colleagues at the Neuropsychiatry Research Institute in Fargo, North Dakota. "While the majority of studies have failed to show medication efficacy for the acute treatment of AN, there is data which suggests that fluoxetine hydrochloride may play a role in preventing relapse during maintenance therapy. Atypical antipsychotics, most often olanzapine, have shown promise in a number of uncontrolled studies."

"BN has been most extensively studied, with the majority of pharmacological trials focusing on antidepressants," reported Pederson and her collaborators. "Fluoxetine, at a dose of 60 mg/day, is F.D.A.-approved for the treatment of BN. Psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is of well-established utility in BN and data suggests that the combination of an antidepressant plus CBT is superior to either treatment alone. Recently, there has been interest in the 5-HT3 antagonist, ondansetron, and the anticonvulsant, topiramate."

"BED investigators have focused largely on antidepressants, which may reduce symptoms of ...