AN-4 is a clinical trial for people with anorexia nervosa (AN), atypical AN and AN in partial remission
Dr Romi Goldschlager
Li THRED, HER Centre Australia, Monash University & MAPrc, Alfred Hospital
Affiliate Authors
Prof Jayashri Kulkarni;
Dr Eveline Mu;
Dr Qi Li;
Dr Leo Chen;
Mr Anthony de Castella;
Ms Emmy Gavrilidis;
Prof. Geoff Cleghorn;
Mr Con Efstathis;
Prof. Richard Newton;
Dr Eva Gregertsen;
Ms Karen Goldschlager;
Ms Cindy Yu;
The main stay of therapy for AN at present is psychological therapies. Unfortunately, psychological therapies do not work for everybody. A significant number of people are left with symptoms of the illness throughout their life. There are no medications known to be effective for the specific treatment of AN. In fact, very little research exists testing medications for the treatment of AN.
This clinical trial tests three different medications against placebo. The effectiveness of the medications is tested by looking at various measures of recovery, including physical health measures, cognitive performance, psychological symptoms of AN and symptoms of common comorbid mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. The trial is a 3-month trial that asks participants to attend the centre once a month, and in between, offers supportive psychotherapy over the phone for people who don’t already have a therapist. The trials are open to people over the age of 16 who are clinically stable. That means that they haven’t needed a hospital admission due to medical complications of their AN in the preceding two months.
More information is available at: https://www.monash.edu/medicine/her-centre