An open trial of reboxetine in obese patients with binge eating disorder.
BACKGROUND
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of reboxetine, a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, in the treatment of obese patients with binge eating disorder (BED).


METHODS
Nine outpatients with BED and obesity received reboxetine 8 mg/day for 12 weeks. The number of days with binge eating episodes per week was considered the primary outcome measure. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), Binge Eating Scale (BES), Clinical Global Impression Severity (CGI-S) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) scores were used as secondary outcome measures. Paired t-test with the last observation carried forward was used to analyze changes from baseline to endpoint.


RESULTS
Five patients completed the study and showed a complete remission of BED. The mean binge days per week was significantly reduced from 4.6+/-1.8 to 0.2+/-0.6, at the end of the study (p=0.0002). Mean BES scores were decreased from 32.3+/-6.3 to 9.3+/-6.8 (p=0.0003). There was also a statistically significant decrease in BMI (from 36.5+/-4.48 to 35.06+/-4.49; p=0.01), and in CGI-S (from 5.1+/-0.9 to 1.4+/-1.01; p=0.0002). Quality of life, assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF was significantly improved on overall quality of life and general health (p=0.02) and on psychological (p=0.03) domain. No serious adverse events were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Reboxetine may be an effective and well-tolerated agent in the treatment of BED in obese patients.
Silveira
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RO
Laboratory of Experimental Psychiatry Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Ramiro Barcelos 2350, 90035-000, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. ricardoosilveira@terra.com.br
Zanatto
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V
Appolinário
J C
JC
Kapczinski
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