Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

In treating binge eating disorder (BED), pharmacological treatment has proven beneficial. Multiple antidepressants including
desipramine and fluvoxamine have demonstrated a decrease in the frequency of binge eating episodes as well as a decrease in the
weight. For example, a placebo controlled trial of desipramine demonstrated a 63% decrease in binge eating frequency and mean
weight loss of 3.5 kg for patients on desipramine compared to 16% decrease in binge eating frequency and mean weight loss of 1.2
kg for patients on placebo. Four previously published placebo-controlled trials on the effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs) on BED demonstrated a minimum 50% decrease in the frequency of binges by SSRIs compared to placebos. Studies have also
shown that in binge eating disorder, there are abnormalities with serotonin and norepinephrine. Anticonvulsants such as topiramate
and zonisamide have also proven beneficial as they have been associated with anorexia and weight loss. One placebo controlled trial
for topiramate demonstrated that 64% of patients treated with topiramate stopped binge eating while only 30% of patients on placebo
demonstrated this. Both of these particular anticonvulsants act by inhibiting glutamate transmission. Anti-obesity agents including
orlistat and sibutramine are also being used. An open trial of sibutramine on 10 obese patients over 12 weeks demonstrated that seven
out of the ten patients had a reduction in their body weight while a placebo controlled trial on 60 patients demonstrated decreases in
binge eating frequency and body weight. New options for pharmacological treatment such as atomoxetine and acamprosate are also
emerging.

Biography

Amalan Karthigeyan attended medical school at the University of Debrecen in Hungary. He obtained his MD from there in 2012 and is now working as a Junior Doctor in
the UK. He spent a short period of time working in an eating disorders unit in the town of Grimsby. During this time, he had a case report published and participated in an
audit analysing cardiac abnormalities in anorexia nervosa patients. The findings of this audit were presented at the 16th World Congress of Psychiatry which took place in
Madrid in September 2014.