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01-08-2012 | Eating Disorders (E Attia, Section Editor)

Antipsychotic Agents in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: Neuropsychopharmacologic Rationale and Evidence from Controlled Trials

Author: Timothy D. Brewerton

Published in: Current Psychiatry Reports | Issue 4/2012

Abstract

The search for an effective psychopharmacologic strategy in the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN) has been elusive for decades and has run the gamut from reserpine to typical antipsychotics, to lithium, to tetrahydrocannabinol, to growth hormone, to anticonvulsants, to antidepressants, to atypical antipsychotics. Only recently has there arisen a potential “diamond in the rough” in the form of the atypical antipsychotic agent, olanzapine, which, in four randomized clinical trials, has shown superiority to placebo (two studies), chlorpromazine (one study), and aripiprazole (one study) in terms of weight gain and/or reduction in obsessional symptoms. The pharmacologic profile of olanzapine and other antipsychotic medications is discussed in light of the known pathophysiology of AN involving serotonin and dopamine systems, as well as brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

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Title: Antipsychotic Agents in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: Neuropsychopharmacologic Rationale and Evidence from Controlled Trials
Author: Timothy D. Brewerton
Publication date: 01-08-2012
Publisher: Current Science Inc.
Published in: Current Psychiatry Reports / Issue 4/2012
Print ISSN: 1523-3812
Electronic ISSN: 1535-1645
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-012-0287-6

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Antipsychotic Agents in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: Neuropsychopharmacologic Rationale and Evidence from Controlled Trials

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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