Comparing Olanzapine with Placebo in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa for Increasing BMI and Weight Gain

Abstract

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that can be characterized by having exceptionally low body weight with feeling of disgust to food. Commonly known treatment for Anorexia Nervosa is psychological treatment with methods like CBT and MANTRA, but now with the introduction of pharmacological drugs it is the aim of this review to identify whether olanzapine is effective compared with placebo in increasing BMI and weight gain. What was found is that olanzapine showed great increases in BMI [F (1, 20) =6.64, p=0.018] when compared to placebo, and that it noticeably had decreased depression and anxiety. Additional studies found that olanzapine patients gained weight more rapidly and achieved their BMI targets more quickly than those taking a placebo. On the other hand, a contradictory finding was seen, it was that there was no significant difference between olanzapine and placebo in the matter of weight recovery and psychologic, depressive, and anxious symptoms. What is concluded is that to minimize the rely on pharmacologic therapies until new findings emerge, and to depend mostly on psychotherapies such as CBT and MANTRA for increasing BMI in anorexia nervosa patients.