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Zonisamide in the treatment of bulimia nervosa: an open-label, pilot, prospective study
Anna I Guerdjikova1, Thomas J Blom, Brian E Martens
1Lindner Center of HOPE, Mason, Ohio; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Objective:
To assess preliminarily the effectiveness of zonisamide in bulimia nervosa.
Method:
This was an open-label, prospective, 12-week, flexible dose study of zonisamide in bulimia nervosa. The primary outcome was binge-purge episode frequency.
Results:
Twelve individuals received zonisamide, 10 completed at least one post-baseline evaluation, and six completed the study. Mean dose at endpoint was 420 (SD = 215) mg/day. Zonisamide was associated with significant reductions in frequency of binge-purge episodes and binge-purge days as well as measures of binge eating behavior, purging behavior, clinical severity, obsessive-compulsive features, and depressive symptoms. Weight was unchanged.
Discussion:
In this open-label trial, zonisamide was effective in bulimia nervosa, but associated with a high discontinuation rate.
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