Can brain scans reveal how a drug affects eating disorder behavior?
NCT ID NCT05509257
First seen Jan 11, 2026 · Last updated Jun 21, 2026 · Updated 30 times
Summary
This early-phase study is testing whether functional MRI (fMRI) can detect changes in brain reward areas after a single dose of naltrexone in 60 adolescents aged 13-21 with eating disorders involving binge eating or purging. Participants receive both naltrexone and a placebo in random order, with brain scans taken two hours after each dose. The goal is to see if fMRI can serve as a reliable biomarker for opioid blockade, which could help develop better treatments in the future.
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Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
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Contacts and locations
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Study contacts
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Contact
Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Children's Mercy Research Institute
RECRUITINGKansas City, Missouri, 64108, United States
Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
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What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
Active substance
naltrexone
What this could lead to
If successful, this could help develop a brain-based test to see if opioid-blocking drugs work in people with eating disorders, potentially guiding future treatments.
What could go wrong
This is a very early, small study focused on measuring brain activity, not on treatment. It may not lead to any direct benefit for participants, and results may not apply to all eating disorder patients.
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.