NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the marketing of the antidepressant drug Prozac as a treatment for the eating disorder bulimia.
"Treatment with Prozac has been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of the destructive behaviors usually associated with bulimia," said psychiatrist Freda Lewis-Hall, director of the Center for Women's Health at Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company which markets the drug.
Bulimia is a psychological eating disorder involving self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives or diuretics. In extreme cases, complications of bulimia such as dehydration and erratic heartbeat can bring on heart attack and death. The overwhelming majority of bulimic patients are women.
"An improved sense of control over binge-eating and purging behaviors is a crucial factor in the successful long-term management of this illness," says Lewis-Hall. Eli Lilly says women taking 60 mg of Prozac daily "experienced a 67% median decrease in binge-eating episodes and 56% median decrease in vomiting episodes."
In a statement, the pharmaceutical company says that since bulimia is a complex psychological disorder, combinations of therapy and medication will continue to be the treatment norm.
Side-effects of Prozac when used in bulimic patients during clinical trials included insomnia, nausea, weakness, and anxiety.
Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride) is one of a new generation of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). In 1987, Prozac was first approved to help treat clinical depression. Two years ago its use was extended to those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Lilly notes that "depression and OCD occur in more than half of patients with bulimia."
Over 34 million people worldwide have used the drug since it was introduced, making it the world's most-prescribed antidepressant.
