Eating
Disorders
Sibutramine Promising Treatment for Obese
Patients with Binge Eating Disorder
(December 4, 2003) -- Obese patients
with binge eating disorder (BED) treated with sibutramine show a reduction
in weight, depression, and binge frequency and severity, say researchers.
Associated with psychiatric conditions such as depression, BED is a newly
recognised condition that commonly affects obese patients.
Medication intervention for
binge eating disorder has most often included anti-depressant and
anticonvulsant agents.
Jose C Appolonario, MD, DSc, and colleagues at the Federal University of Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, evaluated the effectiveness of the anti-obesity agent
sibutramine in obese patients with BED. Sibutramine induces weight loss by
physiological effects on satiety (feeling full) and thermogenesis (heat
creation).
The double-blind study included 60 patients (53 women, mean age 36) with a
BMI between 30 and 45 kg/m who were confirmed to have BED. Patients were
randomised to receive either sibutramine hydrochloride (15 mg/day) or placebo
for 12 weeks.
A 66% decrease in binge days was seen with patients in the sibutramine
group, compared to only a 41% decrease in patients in the placebo group. This
effect was noted after only 2 weeks and was maintained throughout treatment.
A concomitant effect on weight was also observed. Patients given sibutramine
lost on average 7.4 kg by week 12 and placebo patients gained 1.4 kg (P <
.001). Weight loss correlated significantly with a decrease in binge frequency.
A significant reduction in depressive symptoms also occurred during
sibutramine treatment. Beck Depression Inventory scores decreased by 43% in
patients taking sibutramine and by only 4% in the control group.
Dry mouth and constipation were the only adverse events associated with
sibutramine. No effects on systolic or diastolic blood pressure were seen;
though an increase in heart rate was recorded.
Dr. Appolonario concludes that "sibutramine [was] effective in reducing
binge eating, body weight and associated depressive symptoms in [this]
short-term study." "Sibutramine is a promising agent to be used in
obese patients with binge eating disorder," though "these preliminary
findings need to be further replicated," he adds.
Source: Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003 Nov;60:11:1109-16. "A Randomized,
Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Sibutramine in the Treatment of
Binge-Eating Disorder"
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