Antidepressant drug therapy for bulimia: current status.

More than 30 reports, including 9 placebo-controlled, double-blind studies, have assessed the efficacy of various medications, mostly antidepressants, for the treatment of bulimia. A critical review of the available data suggests that antidepressants, and possibly other thymoleptic agents, are clearly superior to placebo for the treatment of bulimia; the studies have not identified specific subgroups of bulimic patients who are, or are not, candidates for these agents; and tentatively, these agents may benefit major affective disorder and bulimia via similar mechanisms.