---
title: Estradiol and Fear Extinction in Anorexia Nervosa (AN)
nct_id: NCT02792153
overall_status: WITHDRAWN
phase: PHASE1
sponsor: Johns Hopkins University
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
primary_condition: Anorexia Nervosa
countries: United States
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/agent/trials/NCT02792153.md"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02792153"
ct_last_update_post_date: 2018-08-24
last_seen_at: "2026-05-12T06:25:43.185Z"
source: ClinicalTrials.gov (mirrored, no enrichment)
---
# Estradiol and Fear Extinction in Anorexia Nervosa (AN)

**Official Title:** Estradiol and Fear Extinction for Calorie-Dense Foods in Weight Restored Adult Women With Anorexia Nervosa (AN)

**NCT ID:** [NCT02792153](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02792153)

## Key Facts

- **Status:** WITHDRAWN
- **Why Stopped:** The study was withdrawn after 18 months due to lack of recruitment.
- **Phase:** PHASE1
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Target Enrollment:** 0
- **Lead Sponsor:** Johns Hopkins University
- **Conditions:** Anorexia Nervosa
- **Start Date:** 2016-12
- **Completion Date:** 2018-08-22
- **CT.gov Last Update:** 2018-08-24

## Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether estrogen may help reduce fear of high calorie-density foods in weight-restored women with Anorexia Nervosa (AN).

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 18 Years
- **Maximum age:** 50 Years
- **Sex:** FEMALE
- **Healthy Volunteers:** Yes

```
Inclusion Criteria (AN):

* Previous diagnosis of recent AN with BMI of \<18.5 (within past year)
* Current BMI \> 19.0 and \< 23.0 kg/m2
* Amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea

Inclusion Criteria (Healthy Controls):

* BMI \> 19 \< 23 kg/m2
* Taking hormone-based contraceptives for a period of one month or more
* Eating disorders symptom scores within one standard deviation of healthy controls

Exclusion Criteria (AN):

* Any medical or psychiatric problem requiring urgent medical or psychiatric attention, including acute suicidality
* History of breast cancer, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction or stroke, diabetes, liver disease, known thrombophilic disease
* Currently taking estrogen or progesterone medication
* Tobacco use greater than 1 pack per week
* Use of St. John's Wort, Phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, rifampin, and dexamethasone can all decrease plasma estrogen level because they are CYP3A4 inducers. Cimetidine, erythromycin, clarithromycin, ketoconazole, itraconazole, ritonavir and grapefruit juice as these may increase plasma estrogen, potentially increasing the presence of side effects
* Pregnant, lactating or unwilling to use appropriate birth control (which may include abstinence) to prevent pregnancy for the duration of study participation (i.e. up to 4 weeks)
* Allergy to estradiol or medroxyprogesterone or ingredients in food items used for test meals
* Undiagnosed, abnormal vaginal bleeding

Exclusion Criteria (Healthy Controls):

* Ever diagnosed with an Eating Disorder
* Any medical or psychiatric problem requiring urgent medical or psychiatric attention, including acute suicidality
* Pregnant, lactating or unwilling to use appropriate birth control (which may include abstinence) to prevent pregnancy for the duration of study participation (i.e. up to 4 weeks)
* Food allergies to items in the test meal
```

## Arms

- **Estrogen** (EXPERIMENTAL) — AN participants receive a course of transdermal estradiol treatment.

## Interventions

- **Estradiol** (DRUG) — AN participants will be prescribed 28 days of transdermal estradiol 0.1 mg/d (Days 1-28) plus 10 days (days 21-31) oral medroxyprogesterone 2.5 mg/d.

## Primary Outcomes

- **Electrodermal skin conductance activity (EDA) during a test meal** _(time frame: Baseline (day 1) and post-treatment (day 21))_ — Meal-related anxiety will be estimated from EDA recordings during a 90 minute test meal session pre- and post-treatment (day 1 and day 21). EDA will be reported as the rate of peaks (\>0.02 microsiemens) per second and the average skin conductance level (in microsiemens).

## Secondary Outcomes

- **Heart rate variability during a test meal** _(time frame: Baseline (day 1) and post-treatment (day 21))_
- **Subjective ratings of anxiety** _(time frame: Baseline (day 1) and post-treatment (day 21))_
- **Salivary cortisol concentration during a test meal** _(time frame: Baseline (day 1) and post-treatment (day 21))_

## Locations (1)

- Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

## Recent Field Changes (last 30 days)

- `status.overallStatus` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.completionDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `design.phases` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.lastUpdatePostDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.whyStopped` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.primaryCompletionDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `design.enrollmentCount` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.criteria` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.minAge` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.maxAge` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.sex` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `outcomes.primary` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `outcomes.secondary` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `armsInterventions.arms` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `armsInterventions.interventions` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `sponsor.lead` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `results.hasResults` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `locations.johns hopkins hospital|baltimore|maryland|united states` — added _(2026-05-12)_

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/agent/trials/NCT02792153.md*  
*Source data (authoritative): https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02792153*  
*This page is a raw mirror with no AI summary, no editorial enrichment, and no Parkinson's-specific filtering.*