Disulfiram for binge eating disorder: an open trail.

Anna Maria Giulia Farci, Simona Piras, Magnolia Murgia, Alessandra Chessa, Angelo Restivo, Gian Luigi Gessa, Roberta Agabio

Journal: Eating behaviors 2015;16():84-7

PMID: 25464072

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of disulfiram for treatment of binge eating disorder.

METHOD

Two hundred and fifty milligrams per day of disulfiram was administered to 12 patients affected by binge eating disorder for 16 weeks; the number of binge eating episodes per week and the number of participants who reported side effects were evaluated.

RESULTS

Nine participants (75.0%) completed the trial, while the other 3 (25.0%) discontinued prematurely. Disulfiram significantly decreased the mean frequency of binge eating episodes per week from 7.9±1.2 to 0.9±0.6 (p<.001). All patients (100.0%) reduced the frequency of binge eating episodes, and 7 participants (58.3%) achieved remission of binge eating. Eleven participants (91.7%) reported side effects [drowsiness (N=9), headache (N=7), dysgeusia (N=3), tachycardia (N=3), dizziness (N=2), and nausea (N=2)].

DISCUSSION

While disulfiram reduced the frequency of binge eating episodes, side effects were observed in the majority of participants. Longer-term placebo-controlled studies are warranted to exclude the contribution of a placebo response from these results and to evaluate drugs with similar pharmacological activity but improved tolerability.

Address: Clinical Nutrition Center, Department of Medical Sciences "M. Aresu" University of Cagliari, Italy.; Colorectal Surgery Center, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.; Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council of Italy, Section of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Neuroscience and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Neuroscience and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.10.008

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MeSH Terms: Adult, Appetite Depressants, Binge-Eating Disorder, Craving, Disulfiram, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Treatment Outcome