Treatment of bulimia nervosa with lithium carbonate. A controlled study.

Ninety-one female bulimic outpatients received lithium carbonate or placebo on a random basis, after being separated into depressed and nondepressed subgroups, in an 8-week double-blind trial. Sixty-eight patients who completed the study experienced a significant decrease in bulimic episodes after the 8 weeks. Lithium, in a dosage yielding relatively low plasma levels, was not more effective than placebo. However, depression and other psychopathologies decreased with improvement in bulimic behavior.