Gastric emptying and symptoms of bulimia nervosa: effect of a prokinetic agent.

Objective: Previous studies have suggested that delayed gastric emptying and abnormal postprandial release of hormones that influence satiation, particularly cholecystokinin (CCK), may play an important role in the pathophysiology of bulimia nervosa (BN). This study was designed to test these hypotheses as well as the efficacy of the prokinetic agent erythromycin in patients with BN.

Method: Thirty-two normal-weight women with BN and 24 control participants consumed a large liquid test meal.

The development of satiation in bulimia nervosa.

Bulimia nervosa (BN) is characterized by the recurrent consumption of excessive amounts of food (binge eating) followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors. A leading hypothesis is that the persistence of BN may be due, in part, to a disturbance in the development of satiation. Because patients with BN consume larger meals than controls, previous studies have not been able to directly compare the development of satiation.

The development of hunger and fullness during a laboratory meal in patients with binge eating disorder.

Objective: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that, compared to similarly obese participants without BED, individuals with BED have a disturbance in the development of fullness and reduction of hunger during the course of a standard meal of large size.

Method: Thirteen patients with BED and 14 obese control participants consumed 975 g of a milkshake. Participants received no information about how much they had eaten or how much of the meal remained to be consumed.

Effect of eating rate on binge size in Bulimia Nervosa.

Bulimia Nervosa (BN) is an eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating. During binge eating episodes, patients often describe the rapid consumption of food, and laboratory studies have shown that during binges patients with BN eat faster than normal controls (NC), but the hypothesis that a rapid rate of eating contributes to the excessive intake of binge meals has not yet been experimentally tested. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of eating rate on binge size in BN, in order to determine whether binge size is mediated, in part, by rate of eating.