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Duloxetine in obese binge eater outpatients: preliminary results from a 12‐week open trial
Author(s) -
Leombruni Paolo,
Lavagnino Luca,
Gastaldi Filippo,
Vasile Alessia,
Fassino Secondo
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.1040
Subject(s) - binge eating , duloxetine , impulsivity , binge eating disorder , beck depression inventory , psychology , mood , reuptake inhibitor , psychiatry , medicine , eating disorders , bulimia nervosa , antidepressant , anxiety , alternative medicine , pathology
Objective Attempts have been made to find appropriate drug regimens to treat binge eating disorder (BED). Several reports have examined the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or mood stabilizers; both serotonin and noradrenalin reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) have been reported to be useful for binge eating, but the available data are limited. We evaluated the efficacy of duloxetine, an SNRI, in 45 obese patients who reported binge eating. Methods Forty‐five patients with BED or binge eating with sub‐threshold symptoms (s‐BED) with high eating impulsivity, received duloxetine 60–120 mg/day for 12 weeks. Results A significant reduction in number of binges/week was observed in BED patients; statistical analyses performed on the whole sample revealed significant reductions in scores on the binge eating scale (BES) and the Beck depression inventory (BDI), weight, body mass index (BMI), clinical global impression, and the bulimia scale of the eating disorder inventory‐2. The reduction in BES and BDI scores was not statistically different between BED and s‐BED subjects. Conclusions Although preliminary, results from this open trial suggest that duloxetine may be a successful option to reduce binge eating and depressive symptoms in both obese BED and s‐BED outpatients. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.