title: Successful treatment of nonpurging bulimia nervosa with desipramine: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
abstract: Twenty-three women with nonpurging bulimia underwent a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of desipramine hydrochloride. Repeated standardized rating scales, mood assessments, and self-reports of dietary habits were used to measure changes in binge frequency and cognitive processes associated with food intake. The women who received desipramine reduced their frequency of binge eating by 63%, but women receiving placebo increased their frequency of binge eating by 16%. Twelve weeks after initiating treatment, 60% of the treatment group but only 15% of the placebo group abstained from binge eating. The women who received desipramine showed significantly more dietary restraint and reported significantly less hunger, suggesting that desipramine acts to suppress appetite. These preliminary findings suggest that the therapeutic effects of desipramine established in the treatment of purging bulimia nervosa extend to patients with nonpurging bulimia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Calif.
authors.forename: U D
authors.initials: UD
authors.lastname: McCann
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Agras
mesh_terms: D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects; D002032:Bulimia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D003891:Desipramine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger / Q000187:drug effects; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010919:Placebos
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos; D003891:Desipramine