d-fenfluramine treatment of binge eating disorder.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of the appetite suppressant d-fenfluramine in the treatment of binge eating disorder.

METHOD

The authors conducted an 8-week double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of the drug with 28 severely obese female patients meeting full criteria for binge eating disorder. The primary outcome measure was number of binges per week, as recorded in binge diaries and reviewed weekly with the principal investigators.

RESULTS

Random effects linear regression analysis showed that the rate of binge eating in the d-fenfluramine group fell three times more rapidly than that in the placebo group, a result that was both clinically and statistically significant. At 4-month follow-up the binge frequency of the d-fenfluramine group had increased to pretreatment levels and no longer differed from that of the placebo group.

CONCLUSIONS

d-Fenfluramine reduced the frequency of binge eating by obese women with binge eating disorder.