View clinical trials related to Anorexia Nervosa.
Filter by:The purpose of this research study is to test a new type of counseling developed to decrease symptoms of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and improve health and well-being in women with these eating disorders. At this time, the most effective form of treatment for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa is cognitive behavioral therapy. However, this form of treatment leads to a complete absence of symptoms in only about 50% of persons completing the treatment program. In this study we will test the effectiveness of a new form of counseling that focuses on identifying and building personal strengths and positive views of the self as the means to decrease eating disorder symptoms and improve health. This study will involve 150 women between the ages of 18 and 35 years who currently have symptoms of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. To participate in this study, women must also be: 1) not pregnant, 2) without any other diagnosable mental disorder, 3) not currently taking medications for their eating disorder or other mental disorder symptoms, 4) not ill enough to require inpatient treatment for their eating disorder and 5) willing to refrain from seeking other treatment for their eating disorder for the duration of this study. Each participant will participate in a 20-week treatment program that includes nutritional counseling and medical care. Both of these forms of treatment are considered by the American Psychiatric Association to be essential parts of treatment for eating disorders and have been found help to reduce symptoms. In addition, participants will receive one of two types of counseling: 1. Experimental counseling that focuses on building strengths and positive self-views 2. Standard counseling that helps the participant identify and solve problems that are believed to contribute to their eating disorder symptoms. The type of counseling that a participant receives will be determined randomly. To determine whether the experimental counseling is effective, eating disorder symptoms, psychological and functional health will be measured before the treatment begins and three times after the treatment ends (immediately after treatment ends, 6 and 12 months later). The findings of this research study are expected to contribute to the development of effective interventions to decrease eating disorder symptoms, and increase health and well-being in women with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a challenging, chronic, refractory illness with the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric condition. Advances in the neuroimaging, genetics and neurobiology of AN has led to a greater understanding of its underlying pathophysiology, although few significant advances in treatment have been made in the last half-century. The central features of AN, which include an intense fear of gaining weight, a refusal to maintain a normal weight, as well as significant anxiety, anhedonia and dysphoria surrounding food, have been linked to dysfunction in key brain structures and circuits. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that involves the insertion of electrodes into structures believed to drive pathological behavior. The procedure is approved for the management of movement disorders, such as Parkinson's Disease, and has shown promising early results in the management of some psychiatric conditions, such as Major Depression. The purpose of this study is to explore the safety and initial efficacy of DBS, in patients with treatment resistant AN.
The purpose of the study is to test a new procedure of body image therapy in anorexia nervosa, using the anamorphic micro software.
This study examines the role of anxiety in food intake among patients with AN by measuring caloric intake in a standardized, laboratory meal with alprazolam versus a placebo. Patients will participate in two test meal sessions, one after receiving alprazolam and one after receiving a placebo. Patients will be administered psychological measures of anxiety, mood, and eating behavior. Primary outcomes include caloric intake in a laboratory test meal and pre-meal anxiety levels.
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that can cause thinning of the bones (a decrease in bone density). A significant decrease in bone density is called osteopenia or osteoporosis. Sometimes the loss of bone density can be severe enough to cause breaks and fractures of the bones. It is not known what causes the bones to thin in anorexia nervosa. Women who have this condition often have thin or weak bones that are more likely to break. They also have very low levels of a chemical called IGF-1 in their body. This chemical is very important for increasing bone growth in puberty and for maintaining healthy adult bones. The investigators would like to find out if giving rhIGF-1 followed by risedronate or risedronate alone can lead to an increase in bone formation, bone density, and bone strength in women with anorexia nervosa.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether neurofeedback training can significantly reduce the symptoms of anorexia nervosa (AN) with focus on changes in personality and psychological well-being. The primary aims of this study include: 1. To examine whether AN patients are able to control their alpha-activity through neurofeedback. 2. To examine the effects of neurofeedback on symptomatology and personality variables in AN patients. 3. To examine the long-term effects of neurofeedback in the treatment of AN.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of hydroxyzine in the treatment of meal-related anxiety in adolescents and young adults 8 to 25 years of age diagnosed with an eating disorder who are underweight. The investigators want to find out if hydroxyzine given before meals will improve meal-related anxiety compared to no hydroxyzine.
The following randomized controlled trial will examine the effects of one year of dehydroepiandrosterone and estrogen replacement therapy (DHEA +ERT) on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone marrow composition in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN). The investigators will use imaging techniques including dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT), visual assessments of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, MR relaxometry and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure bone mineral density and evaluate bone marrow composition. The investigators will also collect serum to measure hormonal mediators of the changes observed in both bone density and bone marrow composition, including adrenal and gonadal steroids, insulin-like growth factors, growth hormone, and ghrelin, adiponectin, and leptin.
Teenage girls with anorexia nervosa (AN) are at risk for low bone density and low rates of bone accrual, raising concerns regarding acquisition of peak bone mass, an important determinant of future bone health and fracture risk. Important factors contributing to low bone density in AN include low levels of estrogen and insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). While estrogen is important for preventing bone loss, IGF-1 is important for optimizing bone formation. We have shown in a previous study that replacement of estrogen is effective in increasing bone density in teenage girls with AN; however, this increase in bone density remains lower than that seen in normal-weight controls over the same duration, and residual deficits persist. Importantly, the impact of administering replacement doses of IGF-1 with estrogen replacement has not been studied in teenagers with AN. This study will examine the impact of administering recombinant human (rh) insulin like growth factor-1 (rhIGF-1) with estrogen (to mimic pubertal levels of these hormones) versus administration of estrogen alone on bone metabolism in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa (AN). One aim of this proposal is to investigate whether co-administration of insulin like growth factor-1 (rhIGF-1) with physiologic estradiol replacement to adolescent girls with AN will increase BMD (bone mineral density) more than estrogen monotherapy, and whether bone mass will approach that seen in healthy adolescent girls. An additional aim is to determine whether co-administration of rhIGF-1 with estradiol to mimic the normal pubertal milieu stimulates bone formation through an IGF-1 mediated anabolic effect, increases bone density to a greater extent than estrogen monotherapy, and improves bone mass accrual to approach that in healthy controls. The impact of rhIGF-1 +estradiol versus estradiol alone on bone microarchitecture will also be assessed.
This treatment development study seeks to investigate the most effective way to treat an adolescent's eating disorder and how best to involve the parents or caregivers in this process. Typically, parents and their child are seen together in therapy. However, this can sometimes be difficult for both the parents and the adolescent. Both parents and adolescents have different concerns and are struggling with different aspects of the eating disorder. Therefore, the treatment in this study involves the parents in treatment, but the majority of therapy sessions are conducted with the parent(s) and adolescent separately. Participants meet with a therapist for 20 sessions over the course of 24 weeks. For the first 16 weeks parents and the adolescent meet individually with the therapist. For the last 8 weeks families meet with the therapist every other week. These last four sessions are conjoint - that is, adolescents and parents will meet with the therapist together. This is to help parents and adolescents come together as a family to continue to aid the adolescent in the treatment of his/her eating disorder. The investigators hypothesize that adolescents who receive this treatment will demonstrate improvement in eating disorder symptoms and body-mass index and that caregivers who participate will demonstrate decreased distress and caregiver burden. Furthermore, the investigators hypothesize that increases in psychological acceptance will be seen for both adolescents and caregivers post-treatment, and that treatment will be viewed as both credible and acceptable to both caregiver and adolescent.