Cited by 56Eating Disorders and BehaviorsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesNutrition, Health and Food Behavior

d-Cycloserine Facilitation of Exposure Therapy Improves Weight Regain in Patients With Anorexia Nervosa: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

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Levinson, Cheri A., Rodebaugh, Thomas L., Fewell, Laura, Kass, Andrea E., Riley, Elizabeth N., Stark, Lynn, McCallum, Kimberly, Lenze, Eric J.·2015·The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Exposure therapy in anorexia nervosa has preliminarily been shown to be effective for increasing food intake. D-Cycloserine is a glutamatergic N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor agonist that has been shown to facilitate the benefits of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders by enhancing the emotional learning in the exposures; therefore, we examined D-cycloserine-facilitation of exposure therapy to increase body mass index (BMI) in patients with anorexia nervosa. METHOD: Participants (N = 36) with anorexia nervosa (diagnosed via DSM-IV) were recruited from a partial hospitalization eating disorder clinic between February 2013 and November 2013. Participants were randomly assigned to receive exposure therapy plus D-cycloserine (n = 20) or placebo (n = 16). Participants completed psychoeducation and 4 sessions of exposure therapy, with medication (D-cycloserine vs placebo) given prior to the first 3 exposure sessions. They also completed a 1-month follow-up. RESULTS: As hypothesized, participants in the D-cycloserine group showed a significantly greater increase in BMI than those in the placebo group (Wilk Λ = 0.86, F3,32 = 2.20, P = .043, ηp(2) = 0.12). D-Cycloserine participants gained 3 pounds relative to 0.5 pounds in the placebo group. Both groups experienced significantly decreased anxiety over the course of therapy (Wilk Λ = 0.80, F3,32 = 3.32, P = .023, ηp(2) = 0.20). CONCLUSIONS: This study preliminarily demonstrates that D-cycloserine facilitates exposure therapy for anorexia nervosa, leading to increased weight gain. A potential mechanism is that participants who receive D-cycloserine may generalize learning from within-session exposures to food intake during other similar meals, resulting in sustained increases in BMI. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and test the putative mechanism that generalized learning from exposure therapy can increase BMI and stabilize a healthy weight. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01996644.

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Authors
Levinson, C. A., Rodebaugh, T. L., Fewell, L., Kass, A. E., Riley, E. N., Stark, L., McCallum, K., & Lenze, E. J.
Affiliations
Washington University in St. Louis (US)
Venue
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
Published
2015-06-24
Volume
76
Issue
06
Pages
e787-e793
ISSN
0160-6689 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W760110413
Cited by
56
References
39
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2
FWCI
8.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (F31MH096433, F31-MH096433-01)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (T32DA035200)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
D-cycloserine, exposure therapy, anorexia nervosa, weight regain, body mass index, NMDA receptor agonist, dietary intake, anxiety reduction, eating disorders
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Anorexia Nervosa, Combined Modality Therapy, Cycloserine, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Implosive Therapy, Male, Middle Aged, Pilot Projects, Weight Gain, Body Mass Index, Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists, Young Adult

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