Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Eighteen women completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study designed to investigate the effects of isocarboxazid in the treatment of bulimia nervosa. There was a significant reduction in binge eating and vomiting during isocarboxazid treatment. Response was not influenced by either the presence or absence of current major depression or personality disorder. There were no serious adverse effects from this monoamine oxidase inhibitor therapy, although over 50% of patients elected to discontinue isocarboxazid 1 year after the study.