Prozac Not Effective Against Anorexia Nervosa

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Main Category: Eating Disorders
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Mental Health
Article Date: 13 Jun 2006 - 17:00 PDT

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Prozac does not help anorexia nervosa patients achieve their normal weight, says a new study carried out at New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, USA. It seems that Prozac is not good at preventing patients from experiencing relapses either.

Prozac has been a popular prescribed medication for patients with anorexia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder associated with extreme dieting. The patient strives to keep her body weight very low. The vast majority of patients with anorexia nervosa are women. More women die as a result of anorexia than any other psychiatric disorder.

Up to 50% of anorexia patients who are discharged from hospital end up back in hospital again within twelve months.

Lead study author, Dr. Timothy Walsh, said "People should not rely on medication which doesn't look terribly effective, but turn their attention to other treatments which may be more useful."

The researchers said Prozac is effective for treating the anxiety and depression which are common among patients with anorexia. Some patients with anorexia who also have bulimia will also benefit from taking Prozac. However, the drug has no effect in treating the anorexia nervosa itself.

You can read about this study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), June 14.

There may be instances when Prozac is effective. The study did not cover such situations as when a patient has regained her normal body weight and kept it so for six months.

The researchers added that 9-12 year old girls with anorexia nervosa are the hardest ones to find the most effective treatments for.

The researchers concluded that you cannot treat patients with anorexia nervosa as you would patients with depression and anxiety. Even though it may have similarities to other disorders, patients do not respond to treatment in the same way, said Walsh. " We really need some new thinking, and thinking that is much more specific to anorexia as opposed to borrowing techniques from things that look similar. I'm afraid this study falls consistently in the long history of medication trials, almost none of which have been positive," he said. "We have yet to discover or identify an effective medication for anorexia."

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Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today


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