Memantine in the treatment of binge eating disorder: An open-label, prospective trial

• Published in: The International journal of eating disorders Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 520 - 526
• Main Authors: Brennan, Brian P, Roberts, Jacqueline L, Fogarty, Kate V, Reynolds, Karina A, Jonas, Jeffrey M, Hudson, James I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.09.2008; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Binge eating; binge eating disorder; binging; Biological and medical sciences; BMI; Body Mass Index; Bulimia Nervosa - diagnosis; Bulimia Nervosa - drug therapy; Bulimia Nervosa - therapy; Clinical Global Impressions Severity; Clinical trials; Cognitive Therapy; diet-related diseases; Disability Evaluation; disease control; disease severity; Dopamine Agents - therapeutic use; drug therapy; drugs; Eating disorders; eating habits; Effectiveness studies; Female; food choices; food intake; Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; memantine; Memantine - therapeutic use; Middle Aged; Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale; Neuropharmacology; Obesity; Obesity - diagnosis; Obesity - epidemiology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prospective Studies; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - antagonists & inhibitors; Regression analysis; Severity of Illness Index; Sheehan Disability Scale; Surveys and Questionnaires; Three Factor Eating Questionnaire; time series analysis; Human; Obesity; binge eating disorder; Psychotropic; Toxicity; Treatment efficiency; Nutrition disorder; Pharmacotherapy; Glutamate receptor; Eating disorder; Amantadine derivatives; Symptomatology; Treatment; Binge eating; Memantine; Follow up study; Evolution; Severity score; Antagonist; NMDA receptor; Nutritional status; BMI
• ISSN: 0276-3478; 1098-108X
• DOI: 10.1002/eat.20541

OBJECTIVE:: To assess preliminarily the efficacy of memantine in binge eating disorder. METHOD:: This was an open-label, 12-week, flexible-dose (5-20 mg/day) trial of memantine in binge eating disorder. The primary outcome was frequency of binge days. Secondary outcomes included frequency of binge episodes, body-mass index (BMI), weight, Clinical Global Impressions Severity (CGI-S), Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), and Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). Longitudinal random regression analysis was performed for frequency of binge days and episodes, BMI, weight, and CGI-S; analysis of baseline to endpoint change was performed for all outcomes. RESULTS:: Sixteen individuals received memantine; 15 completed at least one postbaseline evaluation, 9 completed the study. Mean dose at endpoint was 18.3 mg/day. Memantine was associated with significant reductions in frequency of binge days and episodes, severity of illness (p < .001 for both analyses), disinhibition on the TFEQ (p = .015), and disability on the SDS (p < .05 for three subscales). There was no significant change in BMI, weight, MADRS, HAM-A, and TFEQ cognitive restraint and hunger. CONCLUSION:: In this open-label trial, memantine was well tolerated and effective in reducing binge eating, severity of illness, and disability, but had little effect on BMI and weight. © 2008 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2008