Neurobiology of Bulimia Nervosa

Summary

This pilot study experimentally manipulates ovarian hormones to examine the direct impact of estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) on binge eating symptom burden and the behavioral reward response in women with bulimia nervosa (n=15). This is completed by taking medications that change ovarian hormone levels. This line of research could lead to the development of pharmacological interventions developed to target specific areas of the brain, brain receptors, or pathways identified to be involved in the mechanism underlying ovarian hormone change and binge eating.

Timeline

Start

2020-02-24

Primary completion

2022-04-04

Completion

2022-04-04

Publications

• Background Baker JH, Girdler SS, Bulik CM. The role of reproductive hormones in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Expert Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Nov 1;7(6):573-583. doi: 10.1586/eog.12.54.
• Background Edler C, Lipson SF, Keel PK. Ovarian hormones and binge eating in bulimia nervosa. Psychol Med. 2007 Jan;37(1):131-41. doi: 10.1017/S0033291706008956. Epub 2006 Oct 12.
• Background Klump KL, Keel PK, Culbert KM, Edler C. Ovarian hormones and binge eating: exploring associations in community samples. Psychol Med. 2008 Dec;38(12):1749-57. doi: 10.1017/S0033291708002997. Epub 2008 Feb 29.
• Background Lester NA, Keel PK, Lipson SF. Symptom fluctuation in bulimia nervosa: relation to menstrual-cycle phase and cortisol levels. Psychol Med. 2003 Jan;33(1):51-60. doi: 10.1017/s0033291702006815.
• Background Price WA, Torem MS, DiMarzio LR. Premenstrual exacerbation of bulimia. Psychosomatics. 1987 Jul;28(7):378-9. doi: 10.1016/s0033-3182(87)72511-0. No abstract available.
• Background Mac Neil BA, Hudson CC, Dempsey K, Nadkarni P. A case of symptom relapse post placement of intrauterine device (IUD) in a patient with bulimia nervosa: consequence or coincidence. Eat Weight Disord. 2017 Jun;22(2):369-372. doi: 10.1007/s40519-017-0391-z. Epub 2017 Apr 24. No abstract available.
• Background Barth C, Villringer A, Sacher J. Sex hormones affect neurotransmitters and shape the adult female brain during hormonal transition periods. Front Neurosci. 2015 Feb 20;9:37. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00037. eCollection 2015.
• Background Yoest KE, Cummings JA, Becker JB. Estradiol, dopamine and motivation. Cent Nerv Syst Agents Med Chem. 2014;14(2):83-9. doi: 10.2174/1871524914666141226103135.
• Background Frank GK. Advances from neuroimaging studies in eating disorders. CNS Spectr. 2015 Aug;20(4):391-400. doi: 10.1017/S1092852915000012. Epub 2015 Apr 23.
• Background Richard JE, Lopez-Ferreras L, Anderberg RH, Olandersson K, Skibicka KP. Estradiol is a critical regulator of food-reward behavior. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2017 Apr;78:193-202. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.01.014. Epub 2017 Jan 28.
• Background Klump KL, Fowler N, Mayhall L, Sisk CL, Culbert KM, Burt SA. Estrogen moderates genetic influences on binge eating during puberty: Disruption of normative processes? J Abnorm Psychol. 2018 Jul;127(5):458-470. doi: 10.1037/abn0000352. Epub 2018 Jun 21.
• Background Schmidt PJ, Nieman LK, Danaceau MA, Adams LF, Rubinow DR. Differential behavioral effects of gonadal steroids in women with and in those without premenstrual syndrome. N Engl J Med. 1998 Jan 22;338(4):209-16. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199801223380401.
• Background Bloch M, Schmidt PJ, Danaceau M, Murphy J, Nieman L, Rubinow DR. Effects of gonadal steroids in women with a history of postpartum depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;157(6):924-30. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.6.924.
• Background Ben Dor R, Harsh VL, Fortinsky P, Koziol DE, Rubinow DR, Schmidt PJ. Effects of pharmacologically induced hypogonadism on mood and behavior in healthy young women. Am J Psychiatry. 2013 Apr;170(4):426-33. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12010117.
• Background Lee EE, Nieman LK, Martinez PE, Harsh VL, Rubinow DR, Schmidt PJ. ACTH and cortisol response to Dex/CRH testing in women with and without premenstrual dysphoria during GnRH agonist-induced hypogonadism and ovarian steroid replacement. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Jun;97(6):1887-96. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-3451. Epub 2012 Mar 30.
• Background Nobles CJ, Thomas JJ, Valentine SE, Gerber MW, Vaewsorn AS, Marques L. Association of premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder with bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder in a nationally representative epidemiological sample. Int J Eat Disord. 2016 Jul;49(7):641-50. doi: 10.1002/eat.22539. Epub 2016 May 20.
• Background Damario MA, Hammitt DG, Galanits TM, Session DR, Dumesic DA. Pronuclear stage cryopreservation after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and conventional IVF: implications for timing of the freeze. Fertil Steril. 1999 Dec;72(6):1049-54. doi: 10.1016/s0015-0282(99)00444-6.
• Background Bourgain C, Devroey P, Van Waesberghe L, Smitz J, Van Steirteghem AC. Effects of natural progesterone on the morphology of the endometrium in patients with primary ovarian failure. Hum Reprod. 1990 Jul;5(5):537-43. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.humrep.a137138.
• Background Berman KF, Schmidt PJ, Rubinow DR, Danaceau MA, Van Horn JD, Esposito G, Ostrem JL, Weinberger DR. Modulation of cognition-specific cortical activity by gonadal steroids: a positron-emission tomography study in women. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Aug 5;94(16):8836-41. doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.16.8836.
• Background Bloch M, Rubinow DR, Schmidt PJ, Lotsikas A, Chrousos GP, Cizza G. Cortisol response to ovine corticotropin-releasing hormone in a model of pregnancy and parturition in euthymic women with and without a history of postpartum depression. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Feb;90(2):695-9. doi: 10.1210/jc.2004-1388. Epub 2004 Nov 16.
• Background Roca CA, Schmidt PJ, Deuster PA, Danaceau MA, Altemus M, Putnam K, Chrousos GP, Nieman LK, Rubinow DR. Sex-related differences in stimulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during induced gonadal suppression. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Jul;90(7):4224-31. doi: 10.1210/jc.2004-2525. Epub 2005 May 10.
• Background Schmidt PJ, Steinberg EM, Negro PP, Haq N, Gibson C, Rubinow DR. Pharmacologically induced hypogonadism and sexual function in healthy young women and men. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009 Feb;34(3):565-76. doi: 10.1038/npp.2008.24. Epub 2008 Mar 19.
• Background Schmidt PJ, Martinez PE, Nieman LK, Koziol DE, Thompson KD, Schenkel L, Wakim PG, Rubinow DR. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Symptoms Following Ovarian Suppression: Triggered by Change in Ovarian Steroid Levels But Not Continuous Stable Levels. Am J Psychiatry. 2017 Oct 1;174(10):980-989. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16101113. Epub 2017 Apr 21.
• Background Naessen S, Carlstrom K, Bystrom B, Pierre Y, Hirschberg AL. Effects of an antiandrogenic oral contraceptive on appetite and eating behavior in bulimic women. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2007 Jun;32(5):548-54. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.03.008. Epub 2007 May 2.
• Background Rice VC, Richard-Davis G, Saleh AA, Ginsburg KA, Mammen EF, Moghissi K, Leach R. Fibrinolytic parameters in women undergoing ovulation induction. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1993 Dec;169(6):1549-53. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(93)90434-k.
• Background Misra M, Katzman DK, Estella NM, Eddy KT, Weigel T, Goldstein MA, Miller KK, Klibanski A. Impact of physiologic estrogen replacement on anxiety symptoms, body shape perception, and eating attitudes in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa: data from a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Psychiatry. 2013 Aug;74(8):e765-71. doi: 10.4088/JCP.13m08365.
• Background Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Willett WC, Manson JE, Rosner B, Speizer FE, Hennekens CH. Postmenopausal estrogen therapy and cardiovascular disease. Ten-year follow-up from the nurses' health study. N Engl J Med. 1991 Sep 12;325(11):756-62. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199109123251102.
• Background Lukaszuk K, Liss J, Lukaszuk M, Maj B. Optimization of estradiol supplementation during the luteal phase improves the pregnancy rate in women undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer cycles. Fertil Steril. 2005 May;83(5):1372-6. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2004.11.055.
• Background Fatemi HM, Kolibianakis EM, Camus M, Tournaye H, Donoso P, Papanikolaou E, Devroey P. Addition of estradiol to progesterone for luteal supplementation in patients stimulated with GnRH antagonist/rFSH for IVF: a randomized controlled trial. Hum Reprod. 2006 Oct;21(10):2628-32. doi: 10.1093/humrep/del117. Epub 2006 Jul 20.
• Background Friedler S, Raziel A, Schachter M, Strassburger D, Bukovsky I, Ron-El R. Luteal support with micronized progesterone following in-vitro fertilization using a down-regulation protocol with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist: a comparative study between vaginal and oral administration. Hum Reprod. 1999 Aug;14(8):1944-8. doi: 10.1093/humrep/14.8.1944.
• Background Humaidan P, Bredkjaer HE, Bungum L, Bungum M, Grondahl ML, Westergaard L, Andersen CY. GnRH agonist (buserelin) or hCG for ovulation induction in GnRH antagonist IVF/ICSI cycles: a prospective randomized study. Hum Reprod. 2005 May;20(5):1213-20. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deh765. Epub 2005 Mar 10.
• Background Mitwally MF, Gotlieb L, Casper RF. Prevention of bone loss and hypoestrogenic symptoms by estrogen and interrupted progestogen add-back in long-term GnRH-agonist down-regulated patients with endometriosis and premenstrual syndrome. Menopause. 2002 Jul-Aug;9(4):236-41. doi: 10.1097/00042192-200207000-00004.
• Background Wyatt KM, Dimmock PW, Ismail KM, Jones PW, O'Brien PM. The effectiveness of GnRHa with and without 'add-back' therapy in treating premenstrual syndrome: a meta analysis. BJOG. 2004 Jun;111(6):585-93. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2004.00135.x.
• Background Forbush KT, Wildes JE, Pollack LO, Dunbar D, Luo J, Patterson K, Petruzzi L, Pollpeter M, Miller H, Stone A, Bright A, Watson D. Development and validation of the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory (EPSI). Psychol Assess. 2013 Sep;25(3):859-78. doi: 10.1037/a0032639. Epub 2013 Jul 1.
• Background Franken IH, Muris P, Georgieva I. Gray's model of personality and addiction. Addict Behav. 2006 Mar;31(3):399-403. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2005.05.022. Epub 2005 Jun 16.
• Background Harrison A, O'Brien N, Lopez C, Treasure J. Sensitivity to reward and punishment in eating disorders. Psychiatry Res. 2010 May 15;177(1-2):1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2009.06.010. Epub 2010 Apr 9.
• Background Knutson B, Westdorp A, Kaiser E, Hommer D. FMRI visualization of brain activity during a monetary incentive delay task. Neuroimage. 2000 Jul;12(1):20-7. doi: 10.1006/nimg.2000.0593.

Drugs

Indications