Hormonal Factors in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa

Inclusion Criteria:

- Age 18- 45 years; if participating in the neuroimaging sub study, age 18-40

- Meet DSM-IV criteria for AN (restricting or binge/purge type, BMI 15-17.5) OR meet
criteria for sub-threshold AN, i.e., all DSM-IV criteria except that patients can
have a BMI of <18.5 kg/m2 with or without amenorrhea.

- Free T below the median for healthy women of reproductive age

- All participants will be required to have a treatment team in place that consists of
(at least) a primary care physician and a psychotherapist. Participants will need to
have had regular contact with a primary care physician and be in an individual
psychotherapy program. Participants will agree to continue with this treatment team
and therapy throughout the active course of the study. If participants are taking
psychotropic medications, the dose must be stable for 3 months before study entry

Exclusion Criteria:

- Pregnant women or women of child bearing potential who are not using medically
accepted means of contraception (to include oral contraceptive, patch or implant,
condom, diaphragm, spermicide, intrauterine device, tubal ligation, or partner with
vasectomy).

- Unstable medical illness, including cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, respiratory,
endocrine, neurologic

- Serious suicide risk, substance use disorder active within last 6 months, bipolar I
disorder, severe current depressive symptoms (indexed by HAM-D score >20 [excluding 2
eating/weight loss items related to the symptoms of AN]), or psychotic disorder

- New psychotropic drug regimen, specifically a significant dose change or change in
drug class, within the last 6 weeks. A study psychiatrist will assess whether PRN
medications and dose changes are clinically significant enough to defer enrollment of
specific potential study subjects.

- Untreated hypothyroidism

- If receiving estrogen therapy, including oral contraceptives or transdermal estrogen
therapy, significant change in dose in the prior 3 months

- Use of androgens or androgen precursors, including T, DHEA and methyl T, within 3
months

- Any investigational psychotropic drug within the last 3 months

- In the judgment of the study clinician, unlikely to be able to participate safely
throughout the study period

- Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) > 2x upper limit of normal

- Creatinine >1.5x upper limit

- Serum potassium < lower limit of normal

- If participating in the sub study, unable to tolerate 1 hour in MRI; contraindication
to MRI (such as implanted pacemaker, cerebral aneurysm clips, extensive orthopedic
hardware instrumentation); gastrointestinal tract surgery (including gastrectomy,
gastric bypass surgery, and small or large bowel resection); history of psychosis by
SCID