A device that detects brain activity related to food cravings and electrically stimulates the affected brain region has shown promise in a clinical trial in two patients with binge eating disorder.
- Bulimia, binge eating, and their partial forms most often begin in adolescence and early adulthood. It affects men almost as much as women and is more often diagnosed in adulthood.
- Bulimia affects about 1.5% of 11–20 year olds and affects about three girls for every boy. Binge eating disorder is more common (3-5% of the population).
- Binge eating has an important role in the occurrence of overweight or obesity.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania monitored the activity of a region of the brain, called the nucleus accumbens, in two patients suffering from binge eating disorder with loss of control for six months, as part of a clinical trial.
As a reminder, the nucleus accumbens is involved in the pleasure and reward circuit, as well as in addiction. Previous studies have found that a distinctive low-frequency signal appears in this nucleus when the urge to eat is triggered.
More than 5 pounds lost
Accordingly, in this trial, the researchers implanted a device in both patients, of a type usually used to treat drug-resistant epilepsy. During the six months, the device automatically stimulated the region of the brain where the nucleus accumbens is located.
Result of the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, the patients reported large reductions in their feelings of loss of control and the frequency of their binge eating attacks – each also lost more than five pounds. One of the subjects changed so much that he no longer met the criteria for binge eating. There didn’t seem to be any significant adverse side effects.
The difference between bulimia and binge eating
In a communicatedthe scientists note that in principle, the same treatment approach could be applied to other disorders related to loss of control, including bulimia.
This is characterized by attacks in which the affected person absorbs large quantities of food in a short time, with a feeling of loss of control, followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors such as induced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives, fasting or excessive physical exercise.
Conversely, binge eating is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, but without the use of inappropriate compensatory behaviors. This is why people suffering from binge eating are mostly overweight or obese.