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Drugs & Clinical Trials
November 10, 2008

Alzheimer’s Drug to Treat Binge Eating Disorder

By Jennifer Gibson, PharmD | 4 Comments | Share | Print | Email | Tweet | Like | 1+

Memantine (Namenda) is approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease, but may also be effective in treating binge eating disorder. A new study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders demonstrates memantine’s effectiveness in a small group of patients with binge eating disorder.

Binge eating is a relatively newly recognized psychiatric disorder that involves recurrent episodes of binge eating without extreme behaviors to lose weight. Binge eating is the most common eating disorder, affecting up to 3% of American adults. It is most often seen in people aged 46 to 55 years. Binge eating is typically characterized by eating unusually large amounts of food, and most people with this disorder feel their eating is out of control. They may also eat more quickly than normal during binge episodes, eat until they are uncomfortably full, eat large amounts of food when they not hungry, eat alone to avoid embarrassment, and feel guilty, disgusted, or depressed after eating.

FoodThe current study involved 16 participants with binge eating disorder, 15 of whom completed at least one follow-up session, and 9 of whom completed the entire study. This was an open-label, 12-week trial to assess the efficacy of memantine in binge eating disorder. The individuals received a flexible dose of memantine, ranging from 5 to 20 mg daily. (The normal daily dose of memantine in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is 20 mg daily.) The primary outcome was frequency of binge eating days. Secondarily, the researchers evaluated the 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).

Memantine significantly reduced the frequency of binge days and binge episodes, as well as severity of illness, disinhibition as measured by the TEFQ, and disability measured on the SDS. The number of binge days per week decreased from 4.4 to 1.1, and the number of binge episodes per week decreased from 5.5 to 1.2. There was no significant change in BMI, body weight, depression, or anxiety. Memantine was well tolerated by the participants.

The small patient population, short study duration, and lack of a placebo-controlled group limit the application of the results. Still, the results are the latest in a series of similar promising results in both animal and human models.

Recent data has pointed to a dysfunction in the activity of the neurotransmitter glutamate in mood disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and schizophrenia. Memantine acts as an antagonist at the N-methyl-d-aspartate glutamate receptor, and has been used off-label for various psychiatric disorders, with encouraging results. However, without large, controlled, clinical trials, the routine use of memantine for such disorders is not recommended. The researchers that conducted the current study are planning large, placebo-controlled studies to assess the effectiveness of memantine in eating disorders.

References

A BISAGA, W DANYSZ, R FOLTIN (2008). Antagonism of glutamatergic NMDA and mGluR5 receptors decreases consumption of food in baboon model of binge-eating disorder European Neuropsychopharmacology, 18 (11), 794-802 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2008.05.004

Brian P. Brennan, Jacqueline L. Roberts, Kate V. Fogarty, Karina A. Reynolds, Jeffrey M. Jonas, James I. Hudson (2008). Memantine in the treatment of binge eating disorder: An open-label, prospective trial International Journal of Eating Disorders, 41 (6), 520-526 DOI: 10.1002/eat.20541

Zdanys K, Tampi RR (2008). A systematic review of off-label uses of memantine for psychiatric disorders. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry, 32 (6), 1362-1374 PMID: 18262702

Jennifer Gibson, PharmD

Dr. Gibson, PharmD, is a practicing clinical pharmacist and medical writer/editor with experience in researching and preparing scientific publications, developing public relations materials, creating educational resources and presentations, and editing technical manuscripts. She is the owner of Excalibur Scientific, LLC.

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4 Responses

  1. Neuroskeptic says:
    November 16, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    Hmm – that’s interesting. I wonder how it works (if it does?) I’d have thought that any appetite suppressant would be effective in B.E.D – does memantine suppress appetite? It’s a D2 agonist, amongst other things, so it might do.

    Also, I know that antidepressants reduce binge eating in bulemia, and memantine has been trialled as an antidepressant (although it doesn’t seem to work very well.)

    Reply
  2. Tiptoe says:
    November 16, 2008 at 11:48 pm

    Interesting study, though definitely needs to be on a larger scale. My feeling why memantine works is due to where the drug targets in the brain. Though the Alzheimer’s and BED are entirely different, it looks like memantine can help by blocking the NMDA glutamate receptors. With BED, this might be helpful in controlling the hormone leptin signaling.

    Reply
  3. The Neurocritic says:
    November 19, 2008 at 2:01 pm

    “There was no significant change in BMI, body weight, depression, or anxiety. ”

    Doesn’t seem like it was subjectively helpful to the patients, then.

    Reply
  4. TonyV says:
    December 4, 2008 at 3:50 am

    I’m leery of any drug that promises to fix an illness that has been around for centuries. It seems to me that these drugs never pan out. What has finally worked for me is joining a 12 step program to fight my disease from the emotional/spiritual angle.

    Reply

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