Eating disorders are serious psychiatric conditions with limited treatment options. Ketamine, a drug approved for treatment-resistant depression, is now being investigated for eating disorders. This review examines the evidence for ketamine in treating anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Results are encouraging but limited to case reports on anorexia nervosa. More research is needed to determine ketamine's effectiveness across different eating disorder types, establish safety, and optimize dosing.
Repeated sessions of ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) led to complete and sustained remission in a 21-year-old woman with extreme and enduring bulimia nervosa, a rare outcome for such severe cases. The patient had 40 binge-eating and purging episodes per day that had not responded to prior pharmacological and behavioral treatments. She underwent three courses of KAP over 3 months, each with six sessions twice weekly. Binge-eating and purging reduced dramatically after the first course, with complete cessation of symptoms achieved 3 months post-treatment, and remission sustained for over 1 year. This first report suggests repeated KAP is a promising intervention for bulimia nervosa.