Treatment of antidepressant-resistant bulimia with naltrexone

Ten individuals with antidepressant-resistant bulimia were treated with the long-acting opiate antagonist naltrexone. Seven of the ten experienced at least a 75 percent reduction of their bulimic symptoms, and have maintained their improvement on three to five month follow-up. These preliminary data suggest that naltrexone may be of use in bulimia unresponsive to standard antidepressant therapy, and may provide insight into the role of endogenous opioids in the etiology of eating disorders.