Kaelen C Dunican1, Dana DelDotto. 1. School of Pharmacy-Worcester, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Worcester, MA 01608, USA. Kaelen.Dunican@wor.mcphs.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of olanzapine in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. DATA SOURCES: Literature was obtained through searches of MEDLINE (1966-December 2006), EMBASE (1980-4th Quarter 2006), and PsycINFO (1985-December 2006) and a bibliographic review of published articles. Key terms used in the searches included anorexia nervosa, antipsychotics, eating disorders, olanzapine, and Zyprexa. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All English language articles that were identified from the search were evaluated. All primary literature was included in the review. DATA SYNTHESIS: In several case reports and most clinical trials, patients with anorexia nervosa successfully gained weight while being treated with olanzapine. Moreover, many patients treated with olanzapine achieved a healthy body weight. Case reports and trials identified additional benefits of olanzapine, including reduction in delusional thinking; improvement in body image, sleep, depressive symptoms, adherence to treatment, and eating-disorder symptoms; and decreased agitation and premeal anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence supports the use of olanzapine for treatment of anorexia nervosa by demonstrating that olanzapine 2.5-15 mg daily promotes weight gain and has positive effects on associated psychological symptoms. Limitations of the reported data include small sample size, low completion rate in clinical trials, and open-label trial design. Although olanzapine appears to have a potential role in the treatment of anorexia nervosa that has been unresponsive to other therapy, randomized, placebo-controlled studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to establish its role in therapy.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of olanzapine in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. DATA SOURCES: Literature was obtained through searches of MEDLINE (1966-December 2006), EMBASE (1980-4th Quarter 2006), and PsycINFO (1985-December 2006) and a bibliographic review of published articles. Key terms used in the searches included anorexia nervosa, antipsychotics, eating disorders, olanzapine, and Zyprexa. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All English language articles that were identified from the search were evaluated. All primary literature was included in the review. DATA SYNTHESIS: In several case reports and most clinical trials, patients with anorexia nervosa successfully gained weight while being treated with olanzapine. Moreover, many patients treated with olanzapine achieved a healthy body weight. Case reports and trials identified additional benefits of olanzapine, including reduction in delusional thinking; improvement in body image, sleep, depressive symptoms, adherence to treatment, and eating-disorder symptoms; and decreased agitation and premeal anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence supports the use of olanzapine for treatment of anorexia nervosa by demonstrating that olanzapine 2.5-15 mg daily promotes weight gain and has positive effects on associated psychological symptoms. Limitations of the reported data include small sample size, low completion rate in clinical trials, and open-label trial design. Although olanzapine appears to have a potential role in the treatment of anorexia nervosa that has been unresponsive to other therapy, randomized, placebo-controlled studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to establish its role in therapy.
Authors: Melissa J S Chee; Nicholas Douris; Avery B Forrow; Arnaud Monnard; Shuangyu Lu; Stephen E Flaherty; Andrew C Adams; Eleftheria Maratos-Flier Journal: Eur Neuropsychopharmacol Date: 2015-06-03 Impact factor: 4.600