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Boyd K. Hartman, MD; Patricia L. Faris, PhD; Suck Won Kim, MD; Nancy C. Raymond, MD; Robert L. Goodale, MD; William H. Meller, MD; Elke D. Eckert, MD
University of Minnesota Medical School—Minneapolis 420 Delaware St SE Minneapolis, MN 55455

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1997;54(10):969-970.

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Bulimia nervosa, a chronic psychiatric disorder, is characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating followed by purging (usually in the form of self-induced vomiting) with a loss of volitional control over these behaviors. This disorder occurs in 3% to 5% of young women.¹ Our research group has previously suggested that the pathophysiological characteristics driving the abnormal behaviors involve an increase in the basal tone of the vagus nerve as a result of repeated and aggressive stimulation of the gastric branch of the vagus nerve by binge eating and vomiting.² This hypothesis led us to treat a total of 5 women who met the DSM-III-R criteria for bulimia nervosa (binge-purge subtype) with ondansetron hydrochloride (a 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor antagonist that pharmacologically decreases vagal transmission³). All of these patients were considered to have severe bulimia nervosa due to the chronicity of the disease, a history of previous drug . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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