scholarly journals Recent advances in therapies for eating disorders

F1000Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Davis ◽  
Evelyn Attia

Eating disorders are serious psychiatric illnesses with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Effective treatments have traditionally included behaviorally focused therapies as well as several medication strategies. Recent years have seen promising developments in these treatments, including additional support for family-based approaches for children and adolescents, new evidence for “third-wave” behavioral therapies, and new support for the use of lisdexamfetamine for binge eating disorder and olanzapine for anorexia nervosa. Case study and pilot data are beginning to show limited support for neuromodulatory interventions targeting brain regions thought to be involved in eating disorders. This review summarizes treatment developments over the last several years and points towards future directions for the field.

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. SART.S7864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany A. Brown ◽  
Pamela K. Keel

Eating disorders are a significant source of psychiatric morbidity in young women and demonstrate high comorbidity with mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Thus, clinicians may encounter eating disorders in the context of treating other conditions. This review summarizes the efficacy of current and emerging treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED). Treatment trials were identified using electronic and manual searches and by reviewing abstracts from conference proceedings. Family based therapy has demonstrated superiority for adolescents with AN but no treatment has established superiority for adults. For BN, both 60 mg fluoxetine and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have well-established efficacy. For BED, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, CBT, and interpersonal psychotherapy have demonstrated efficacy. Emerging directions for AN include investigation of the antipsychotic olanzapine and several novel psychosocial treatments. Future directions for BN and BED include increasing CBT disseminability, targeting affect regulation, and individualized stepped-care approaches.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaby Resmark ◽  
Stephan Herpertz ◽  
Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann ◽  
Almut Zeeck

Anorexia nervosa is the most severe eating disorder; it has a protracted course of illness and the highest mortality rate among all psychiatric illnesses. It is characterised by a restriction of energy intake followed by substantial weight loss, which can culminate in cachexia and related medical consequences. Anorexia nervosa is associated with high personal and economic costs for sufferers, their relatives and society. Evidence-based practice guidelines aim to support all groups involved in the care of patients with anorexia nervosa by providing them with scientifically sound recommendations regarding diagnosis and treatment. The German S3-guideline for eating disorders has been recently revised. In this paper, the new guideline is presented and changes, in comparison with the original guideline published in 2011, are discussed. Further, the German guideline is compared to current international evidence-based guidelines for eating disorders. Many of the treatment recommendations made in the revised German guideline are consistent with existing international treatment guidelines. Although the available evidence has significantly improved in quality and amount since the original German guideline publication in 2011, further research investigating eating disorders in general, and specifically anorexia nervosa, is still needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-67
Author(s):  
Deah Jo Abbott ◽  
Caleb Wayne Lack

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent and most functionally impairing psychiatric problems experienced by the population. Both pharmacological and psychological evidencebased treatments exist for a number of specific disorders, but may fail to fully relieve symptoms, pointing to the need for additional treatment options. Often considered to be part of the “third wave” of cognitive-behavioral therapies, treatments incorporating mindfulness have emerged in the past two decades as increasingly popular with clinicians and frequently sought out by consumers. The present article reviews the extant literature regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of mindfulnessbased treatments for anxiety, worry, and related problems. Although they have not attained the solid empirical status of CBT or certain pharmacological treatments, the extant research shows mindfulness- based interventions appear to be a promising and useful treatment for people suffering from anxiety and worry. Further work should be done, levels 3-5 of the NIH stage model to determine whether or not they should be further implemented.


2021 ◽  
pp. 025371762199673
Author(s):  
Joel Philip ◽  
Vinu Cherian

Recent years have witnessed an increased interest in the use of “third-wave” psychotherapies in treating psychiatric disorders. These newer therapies are fundamentally different from the existing techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy in terms of their guiding principles and processes of change. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is the most prominent among these “third wave” psychotherapies. However, there have not been any reports from India, thus far, that have studied the use of ACT in treating obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). We describe a case of OCD that was successfully treated with eight sessions of ACT, with the results being maintained over a one-month follow-up period. Postintervention tests revealed a significant decrease in obsessive–compulsive symptoms and an associated increase in psychological flexibility. This case study highlights the possible utility of ACT as a therapeutic intervention in OCD, especially when combined with pharmacotherapy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152098560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Celinska

Purpose: This case study is the introspective account of the evaluation process of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) as implemented in Middlesex County in New Jersey between 2005 and 2011. The study presents challenges and issues in evaluation falling into three main categories. Methods: The case study is based on the recollections and documented experiences of the author who was responsible for all major aspects of the evaluation including designing the study, collecting the data, and handling daily evaluation activities. Results: The author differentiated among three main categories of challenges. In respect to research design, the relative merits of experimental versus nonexperimental designs and quantitative versus qualitative research methods are discussed. The second set of issues involves developing and exercising the social competence skills necessary to form working partnerships with service providers. The third set encompasses logistical barriers encountered during daily evaluation activities. Conclusions: The challenges and lessons learned from conducting the outcome evaluation of FFT are situated within scholarly debates on evaluation research, with the goal of providing further insights into the on-the-ground implementation and process of program evaluations. The experiences, recollections and processes illustrate challenges and solutions applicable to evaluations of other family-based violence prevention interventions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 135910452199417
Author(s):  
Rosie Oldham-Cooper ◽  
Claire Semple

There is building evidence that early intervention is key to improving outcomes in eating disorders, whereas a ‘watch and wait’ approach that has been commonplace among GPs and other healthcare professionals is now strongly discouraged. Eating disorders occur at approximately twice the rate in individuals with type 1 diabetes compared to the general population. In this group, standard eating disorder treatments have poorer outcomes, and eating disorders result in a particularly high burden of morbidity. Therefore, our first priority must be prevention, with early intervention where disordered eating has already developed. Clinicians working in both eating disorders and diabetes specialist services have highlighted the need for multidisciplinary team collaboration and specific training, as well as improved treatments. We review the current evidence and future directions for prevention, identification and early intervention for eating disorders in children and young people with type 1 diabetes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 188-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Solstrand Dahlberg ◽  
Lyle Wiemerslage ◽  
Ingemar Swenne ◽  
Anna Larsen ◽  
Julia Stark ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S553-S553 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Arts ◽  
P. Michielsen ◽  
S. Petrykiv ◽  
L. de Jonge

IntroductionJohann Gottlieb Burckhardt-Heussler was a Swiss psychiatrist, who pioneered controversial psychosurgical procedures. Burckhardt-Heussler extirpated various brain regions from six chronic psychiatric patients under his care. By removing cortical tissue he aimed to relieve the patients of symptoms, including agitation, rather than effect a cure.ObjectivesTo present the scientific papers of Johann Gottlieb Burckhardt-Heussler on psychosurgery.AimsTo review available literature and to show evidence that Burckhardt-Heussler made a significant contribution to the development of psychosurgery.MethodsA biography and private papers are presented and discussed, followed by a literature review.ResultsThe theoretical basis of Burckhardt-Heussler's psychosurgical procedure was influenced by the zeitgeist and based on his belief that psychiatric illnesses were the result of specific brain lesions. His findings were ignored by scientists to make them disappear into the mists of time, while the details of his experiments became murky. Decades later, it was the American neurologist Walter Freeman II, performing prefrontal lobotomies since 1936, who found it inconceivable that the medical community had forgotten Burckhardt-Heussler and who conceded that he was familiar with, and probably even influenced by, Burckhardt's work.ConclusionIt is partly thanks to Burckhardt-Heussler's pioneering work that modern psychosurgery has gradually evolved from irreversible ablation to reversible stimulation techniques, including deep brain stimulation.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


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