Reboxetine in a patient with seasonal bulimia resistant to SSRIs and light therapy.

There is a phenomenological similarity between seasonal affective disorder and bulimia nervosa, as sufferers from both show increased appetite and carbohydrate craving and probably share a common dysfunction in brain serotonergic systems. Serotonergic compounds and bright light therapy have proven to be an effective treatment for both disorders. We describe the case of a woman who suffered from seasonal affective disorder and nonpurging bulimia nervosa for 16 years and was resistant to treatment regimens with selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and bright light therapy. She was successfully treated with the selective noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor reboxetine. The authors want to encourage clinicians to make attempts to treat seasonal and non-seasonal bulimia with selective noradrenergic compounds.