A placebo-controlled pilot study of adjunctive olanzapine for adolescents with anorexia nervosa

TL;DR: Preliminary findings do not support a role for adjunctive olanzapine for underweight adolescent females with anorexia nervosa-restricting type who are receiving standard care in an eating disorder treatment program.

Abstract: Objective: The objective of this study was to explore whether the addition of olanzapine versus placebo increases weight gain and improves psychological symptoms in adolescents with anorexia nervosa-restricting type who are participating in a comprehensive eating disorders treatment program. Methods: Twenty underweight females participated in this 10-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of olanzapine. The primary efficacy measure was change in percentage of median body weight measured at baseline and weeks 5 and 10. Secondary efficacy measures included clinician-rated and self-reported measures of psychological functioning measured at 2-week intervals and eating disorder symptoms measured at baseline and weeks 5 and 10 as well as laboratory assessments (including indirect calorimetry), which were also performed at baseline and weeks 5 and 10. A mixed models approach to repeated measures analysis of variance was utilized to detect any treatment-by-time interaction. Results: Fifteen o...