Study Finds Zoloft Effective in Treating Binge-Eating Disorder.

BELMONT, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 18, 1999--

With the holiday feasting frenzy upon us, researchers have found new hope for a serious yet little-known form of overeating.

Researchers at McLean Hospital have found that the antidepressant Zoloft is effective in the short-term treatment of binge-eating disorder (BED). BED is an illness characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, similar to bulimia nervosa, but without behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse. An estimated 1 million Americans suffer from binge-eating disorder.

The six-week study involved 36 patients who had binge-eating disorder according to criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, and who binged a minimum of three times per week. Eighteen of the study participants received Zoloft, one in a family of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) commonly used in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Sixteen subjects received placebo. After six weeks, patients given the SSRI experienced markedly fewer episodes of binge eating and lost an average of 12 pounds. Patients given placebo did not respond as well, experiencing a much lower reduction in binge episodes compared to those taking Zoloft, and losing an average of only five pounds.

"What we saw in the study was that Zoloft was very effective overall in treating binge-eating disorder, and that it was well-tolerated," says lead investigator James Hudson, MD, of McLean Hospital's Biological Psychiatry Laboratory. Hudson, who collaborated with University of Cincinnati investigators, will present the study results for the first time on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Eating Disorders Research Society annual meeting in San Diego.

The study provides further evidence of the effectiveness of SSRIs in treating binge-eating disorder. In December 1998, Hudson and colleagues at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Minnesota published an article in the American Journal of Psychiatry, reporting the results of a nine-week, multicenter trial of the SSRI Luvox in 85 BED subjects. As in the current trial, patients taking an SSRI showed significant overall improvement, a decrease in frequency of binges and a reduction in weight.

"While further investigation is still needed, treatment with SSRIs appears at the present time to represent a safe and effective treatment for people with binge-eating disorder," concludes Hudson.

McLean Hospital, consistently ranked one of the country's top psychiatric facilities, is the largest psychiatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of Partners HealthCare System. McLean maintains the largest research program of any private psychiatric hospital in the nation.