Estrogen patches tested for brain effects in eating disorders
NCT ID NCT03740204
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether estrogen patches can improve mental flexibility and reward processing in young women (ages 14-35) with eating disorders linked to low estrogen. About 120 participants will receive either estrogen patches or placebo for 12 weeks. The goal is to understand how estrogen influences brain function and eating disorder symptoms, not to cure the condition.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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120 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2019
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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14 to 35 years
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria: * Female * 14-35 years * Bone age ≥13.5 years (applicable only for participants \<16 years) * Clinically significant eating disorder characterized by restriction and/or excessive exercise and high drive for thinness * Hypoestrogenemia: Oligo-amenorrhea defined as lack of menses for ≥3 months within a 6-month period of oligomenorrhea (cycle length ≥5 weeks) or absence of menses at \>15 years if premenarchal or low estradiol levels evaluated by the study physician * Low or normal weight defined by a body mass index that is \<85th percentile for 14-18 year olds and a body mass index \<25 kg/m2 for adults Exclusion criteria: * Suicidal ideation where outpatient treatment is determined unsafe by study clinician * Other causes of oligo-amenorrhea, unless a study clinician determines that missed menstrual periods are more likely a consequence of restrictive eating * Medications that contain estrogen ± progesterone within the past 3 months * Levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device if subject is unable to provide two to three weekly blood samples for estradiol of if estradiol levels are determined to be too high by study doctor * Neurological or psychiatric disorders that may impact neural circuitry of interest * Lifetime history of seizure disorder or electroconvulsive therapy * Pregnancy/breastfeeding * Gastrointestinal tract surgery * Contraindications to estrogen use * Any other significant illness or condition that the investigator determines could interfere with study participation or safety or put the subject at any unnecessary risk
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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