Active clinical trials for "Bulimia"

Bulimia nervosa (BN) is a serious mental illness characterized by massive food crises followed by anxiety and compensatory behaviours (vomiting more often). Recent data show an increasing prevalence and a serious prognosis, due to excess mortality by suicide but also somatic complications. Two types of treatments are validated : serotoninergic antidepressants (SSRI) and psychotherapy. Many clinical trials confirm the effectiveness of the SSRI. But many studies also emphasize the important proportion of non-responders to SSRI, few of them analyze the reasons for this non-answer. To better understand the mode of action of SSRI, we should analyse the serotonergic activity in the central nervous system in bulimia. Recently, specific brain 5HT1A serotonin receptor ligands ([18F] MPPF or [11 C] WAY-100635), were used in positron emission tomography (PET) to characterize the serotonergic abnormalities of bulimic patients. The ligand [18F] MPPF has the feature to be sensitive to the level of endogenous serotonin. A first pilot study using PET with [18F] MPPF realized between the University Hospital of Saint Etienne and Lyon CERMEP showed a diffuse increase of the binding potential of [18F] MPPF in bulimic patients, suggesting a decrease in serotonin activity. The brain regions affected were angular gyrus, medial frontal cortex, left insula, cingulate gyrus and orbitofrontal gyrus. These areas are involved in major bulimic symptoms (impulse, taste, instinct, anxiety and satiety). However, we noticed an interindividual heterogeneity of cortical binding of [18F] MPPF. In front of the heterogeneity in terms of efficacity of SSRI and brain serotoninergic activity, it seems necessary to continues investigations, to determine if there is a link between brain serotonin profile and responding to SSRI in bulimia nervosa.

The purpose of this research study is to test a new type of counseling developed to decrease symptoms of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and improve health and well-being in women with these eating disorders. At this time, the most effective form of treatment for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa is cognitive behavioral therapy. However, this form of treatment leads to a complete absence of symptoms in only about 50% of persons completing the treatment program. In this study we will test the effectiveness of a new form of counseling that focuses on identifying and building personal strengths and positive views of the self as the means to decrease eating disorder symptoms and improve health. This study will involve 150 women between the ages of 18 and 35 years who currently have symptoms of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. To participate in this study, women must also be: 1) not pregnant, 2) without any other diagnosable mental disorder, 3) not currently taking medications for their eating disorder or other mental disorder symptoms, 4) not ill enough to require inpatient treatment for their eating disorder and 5) willing to refrain from seeking other treatment for their eating disorder for the duration of this study. Each participant will participate in a 20-week treatment program that includes nutritional counseling and medical care. Both of these forms of treatment are considered by the American Psychiatric Association to be essential parts of treatment for eating disorders and have been found help to reduce symptoms. In addition, participants will receive one of two types of counseling: Experimental counseling that focuses on building strengths and positive self-views Standard counseling that helps the participant identify and solve problems that are believed to contribute to their eating disorder symptoms. The type of counseling that a participant receives will be determined randomly. To determine whether the experimental counseling is effective, eating disorder symptoms, psychological and functional health will be measured before the treatment begins and three times after the treatment ends (immediately after treatment ends, 6 and 12 months later). The findings of this research study are expected to contribute to the development of effective interventions to decrease eating disorder symptoms, and increase health and well-being in women with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of daily doses of RDC-0313 (ALKS 33) compared with placebo in adults with binge-eating disorder (BED). An additional objective is to explore the efficacy of RDC-0313 treatment in comparison with placebo in adults with binge-eating disorder.

Patients diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder (BED) overeat food but, as opposed to patients with bulimia nervosa, they do not compensate for their increased food intake and therefore their body weight increases. It is hypothesized that the speed of eating has increased in BED and that body weight will decrease if the speed of eating is decreased. The speed of eating is measured using Mandometer, an eating disorder conditioning tool, class 2 device cleared by the FDA for the treatment of eating disorders. Mandometer is a scale connected to a computer, patients eat food from a plate on the scale and the computer stores the weight loss of the plate, thus recording the speed of eating. Patients decrease their speed of eating by following training curves on the computer screen while eating. The emergence of their own speed of eating on the screen makes this possible. Patients use Mandometer for lunch and dinner over one week at home to estimate their speed of eating and their food intake as the first step of clinical pratice. Mandometer is then programmed with how much and how quickly to eat and patients practice eating using Mandometer at home over the subsequent treatment. Data from 166 BED-patients using Mandometer at home and from a total of 354 patients who have been treated have been collected. 30 normal weight, healthy subjects will be recruited to test the hypothesis that their speed of eating is lower than that of the BED-patients. These control subjects will eat lunch and dinner using Mandometer at home over one week, but they will, obviously, not participate in treatment.

This study investigates the hormones that the body produces in response to food intake and in response to stress, and the way that stress influences food intake. In particular, it compares the hormone levels and food intake of people with and without binge eating disorder. In order to find out how these appetite- and stress-related hormones are linked to brain activity, the study also includes an fMRI scan, a non-invasive procedure that looks at which regions of the brain are most active during a food-related scenario.

Introduction: The purpose of this research is to develop a new component for cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT), empirically validated, for binge eating behavior in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED), by means of cue-exposure therapy (CET) with virtual reality. While CBT is an effective treatment for these eating disorders, an important percentage of patients do not improve despite treatment. It is necessary to explore how to enhance the effectivity of usual treatments with the incorporation of new technologies and procedures. The innovation of this investigation is based on the use of VR for cue-exposure therapy, which has been found effective with patients resistant to conventional treatments (CBT and pharmacological intervention), and seeks to enhance this efficacy by increasing possibilities of generalization and providing more useful tools to clinicians, diminishing the logistic complications of the exposure to real cues (food). Participants: 60 patients with a diagnosis of BN or BED according the DSM-5 who had been proposed for participation in the study by their referral mental health's professional after conducting unsuccessfully a first level treatment (CBT structured intervention) at the clinical sites involved will participate in the study. Procedure: Participants with active episodes of binge eating (and purging, in the case of BN) during the last 2 weeks of the structured intervention of CBT will be provided with detailed information about the study. All patients who agree to participate in the study and who sign the informed consent form will be randomly assigned to one of the two second-level treatment conditions: virtual reality based cue-exposure therapy (VR-CET) or additional cognitive-behavioral treatment (A-CBT). Both second-level treatment conditions consist of six 60-minute sessions that are held two times per week over a period of three weeks. In an interview setting, all of the participants will be administered several questionnaires (BN, DT and BD subscales of EDI-3, FCQ-T/S, and STAI-Y) and participants assigned to the VR-CET will also be exposed to various types of virtual foods in different virtual environments (kitchen, dining-room, bedroom, and café) where they will be asked about their food cravings and anxiety experienced in each situation to develop a proper exposure hierarchy according to the specific characteristics and needs of each patient.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether methylphenidate is effective in the treatment of binge eating disorder, in a randomized controlled trial extended release methylphenidate versus cognitive behavioral therapy for binge eating disorder in overweight or obese adult females.

Although 4.7% of adolescents suffer from symptoms of bulimia nervosa (BN), only 1/5 seek treatment. Hesitation to seek treatment is likely related to ego-syntonicity and fear of disclosing symptoms to parents and clinicians. Furthermore, the physical symptoms of BN often go unnoticed by parents and clinicians. In order to eliminate the barriers that prevent adolescents from seeking treatment, this study will offer anonymous access to online self-help cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for BN. Online CBT (traditional, non-anonymous delivery) has been found to be effective and acceptable treatment for adolescents with BN. Furthermore, in adults, this method has been found to be as effective as specialized treatments, and more cost efficient. To remain anonymous and accessible, the self-help approach in this study will be provided in a non-guided, or pure format (only online sessions). Studies support that a pure self-help methodology is as effective as a guided version. Although anonymity may improve accessibility, this study design could also pose challenges in areas such as recruitment, treatment completion and obtaining adequate informed consent. Therefore, before embarking on a larger randomized control trail, we would like to propose a small, non-controlled feasibility study to assess potential issues in these areas. Primary hypotheses: Recruitment: Based on communication with public health nurses in the high schools we plan to recruit from, we hypothesize that it is feasible to recruit 1-5 adolescents over a 4-month period from each of the 5 schools, and 1-5 from social media outlets such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook for a total of 5 participants over a 4-month period. Treatment completion: Based on pervious studies of self-help for adolescent bulimia, we hypothesize that approximately 15% of participants will not complete any sessions, and many will only complete about half of the sessions. Informed consent: Based on information from large randomized control studies in the UK, we hypothesize that adolescents will be capable of providing online consent, and that we will be able to adequately obtain consent without verbally communicating with participants. Secondary hypothesis: We hypothesize a non-guided (pure) version of online CBT-BN offered in an anonymous manner will decrease BN symptoms after treatment completion, and at 3-month follow-up compared to baseline.

The purpose of this research study is to study the effectiveness, tolerability and safety of armodafinil in outpatients with binge eating disorder.

This research study is designed to look at the effectiveness of bupropion for reducing binge eating in overweight persons with binge eating problems. Participants in the study will receive either bupropion or placebo ("sugar" pill, inactive medication) as an outpatient for eight weeks. In addition, participants will be given the option to receive 8 weeks of free behavioral weight loss treatment. This treatment, known to be effective for reducing binge eating and helping people lose weight, will be administered following the medication phase and at no cost. It is expected that compared to placebo, bupropion will produce greater reductions in binge eating.