Active clinical trials for "Feeding and Eating Disorders"

This study will test the efficacy of naltrexone HCI and bupropion HCI (NB) versus placebo in patients with binge-eating disorder (BED), with or without obesity.

This investigation proposes to examine the effectiveness of a technology supported treatment manual for pediatric feeding disorders. Children with pediatric feeding disorders display intense avoidance behaviors (e.g., crying, tantrums, and disruptions) that prevent appropriate nutritional intake during meals and lead to a number of negative and potentially life threatening medical outcomes, including chronic malnutrition, growth retardation, and placement of a feeding tube. To date, behavioral intervention involving extinction-based procedures represents the only treatment for pediatric feeding disorders supported by research to improve mealtime behaviors. Due to the chronic and extreme nature of food refusal, treatment typically requires intensive, daily intervention conducted at highly specialized clinics to improve feeding behaviors. The cost and duration of intervention can total as much as $60,000 per child requiring up to 6 to 8 weeks, respectively. The potential for serious consequences associated with chronic food refusal, combined with the high cost of treatment, intensifies the need to identify means to disseminate effective treatment approaches to the broader community of healthcare providers. The proposed study represents the first attempt to systematically investigate the use of a treatment manual to address chronic food aversion through a randomized, waitlist control trial in children treated at the Marcus Autism Center's Pediatrics Feeding Disorders Program. This study will involve a total of 20 participants randomly assigned to experimental conditions: technology supported treatment manual or waitlist control group (10 in each group). Children assigned to the waitlist control group will receive the technology supported treatment manual after the specified time on the waitlist. All participants will receive the same behavioral protocol involving three treatment sessions per day (45 minutes in length), for a total of 15 sessions across five consecutive days. Data will be collected on feeding behaviors during each treatment session and at follow-up using trained observers to collect data on mealtime behaviors, including acceptance, swallowing, disruption, expulsion, and grams consumed. This type of data collection and treatment is standard practice in the feeding disorders program; however, the use of a touch screen application for data capture with integrated manual is novel to this project.

Family therapy is considered an empirically supported treatment approach for adolescents and adults with eating disorders. One family based approach, Expert Carers Helping Others (ECHO) is based on evidence that suggests family environment, e.g., carer criticism, can influence an individual's eating disorder symptoms. ECHO aims to improve carer coping, reduce expressed emotion and manage eating disorder symptoms, and has been associated with reduced carer distress, caregiver burden, and an increase in general well being. The current pilot study seeks to evaluate a new condensed version of the ECHO intervention that is delivered entirely in a 2 ½ hour self-help DVD format (ECHOs). Sixty patients and their carers will be recruited from the Capital Health Eating Disorders Service and randomized into either a treatment as usual group (TAU) or a TAU+ECHOs group. Both carers and patients will be assessed along a variety of dimensions including psychiatric symptoms, family functioning, and carer and patient collaboration, at pre-intervention, four weeks later at post-intervention, and then three-months post-intervention. ANOVAs will be used to compare the primary outcomes between the two groups over time. This pilot study will be the first evaluation of ECHOs, which may ultimately boost the efficacy of current treatment for adults with eating disorders and reduce carer distress.

Eating disorders are conditions that are defined by abnormal eating habits that involve insufficient or excessive food intake. With regards to treating these disorders, there is an increasing interest in fat deprivation due to a lack of proper diet, particularly dietary fats such as polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids are essential components of the brain and are important for normal functioning of the body. Since the body cannot synthesize these fats, it has to rely completely on diet to obtain a sufficient amount. Hence, diets that lack sufficient fats or under fasting conditions, the imbalance of these fats can severely alter brain functions. The investigators want to see if these supplements are well tolerated and accepted by adolescent patients with eating disorders.

Strength training has been found effective for enhancement of bone health, muscle strength and body composition among premenopausal women from the general population, however it is unclear to what extend strength training might improve these parameters among women with eating disorders. The aim of this study is therefore to examine acute and long-term effects of strength training among persons with eating disorders. The study is a randomized, controlled, single-blinded trial with three intervention groups and one control group. The three intervention groups will perform different volumes of strength training. The intervention period is 16 weeks with three sessions per week. At pretest, posttest, and 6 months, 12 months and 24 months follow-up, the following variables will be measured: bone health, muscle strength, power, body composition hormone levels, physical activity level and compulsivity, body awareness, quality of life, and eating disorders psychopathology. Qualitative in-depth interviews will be carried out to explore the participants' experiences with strength training. The study is carried out in Norway, and is performed in collaboration with Telemark University College, University of Agder, Norwegian school of sport sciences and Modum Bad psychiatric center. The results from the study might implicate on strength training as part of treatment for eating disorders.

Gut of newborn preterm is sterile, immediately by the mother and the surrounding environment from microbial colonization. As the effects of diet, intestinal flora is rapidly changed. Preterm children significantly delay in the establishment of normal flora,during hospitalization because of no breastfeeding, use of antibiotics, enteral feeding delay, combat disease and other factors. In this study, hospitalized preterm children for the study, the prospective randomized double-blind controlled study, to find oral intestinal bifidobacteria and lactobacilli and bifidobacteria subspecies composition and distribution, and further show intestinal bacteria in premature children case group.

The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate the efficacy of SPD489 compared with placebo in adults (18 55 years of age inclusive) with moderate to severe Binge Eating Disorder at Visit 8 (Weeks 11 and 12) as measured by the number of binge days (defined as days during which at least 1 binge episode occurs) per week as assessed by clinical interview based on subject diary

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of folic acid supplementation on homocysteine levels in a group of patients with eating disorders (ED) with low folate intake. The secondary aims were to evaluate the evolution on cognitive and depressive status after the intervention.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has documented efficacy for the treatment of binge eating disorder (BED). Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) has been shown to reduce binge eating but its long-term impact and time course on other BED-related symptoms remain largely unknown. This study compares the effects of group CBT and group IPT across BED-related symptoms among overweight individuals with BED.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has documented efficacy for the treatment of binge eating disorder (BED). Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) has been shown to reduce binge eating but its long-term impact and time course on other BED-related symptoms remain largely unknown. This study compares the effects of group CBT and group IPT across BED-related symptoms among overweight individuals with BED.