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RecruitingNCT05664516STROBEUpdated Aug 14, 2026

A Study of the Effects of Oxytocin in Adults With Binge-eating Disorder

A Phase 2 interventional study of TNX-1900 (Tonix Pharmaceuticals) and Placebo in Binge-eating Disorder, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-14.

Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Mar 2023; still recruiting 3 years 8 months later.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study evaluates the impact of intranasal oxytocin vs placebo in patients with binge eating disorder or episodes of binging. We hypothesize that 8 weeks of intranasal oxytocin vs placebo will improve clinical outcomes [reduction in bingeing frequency], and have a satisfactory safety and tolerability profile. We will also explore the predictive value of changes in homeostatic appetite, reward sensitivity, and impulse control, the identified underlying mediators, as assessed 4 weeks into the intervention, for treatment success after 8 weeks of the intervention.

Read the detailed description

Study staff will screen patients for eligibility as per eligibility criteria. At least 60 eligible patients will be randomized 1:1 (active oxytocin: placebo) by an unblinded pharmacist. All other study staff and test subjects will be blinded. Study subject medical histories, physical exams, anthropometric measurements, labs, EKG's, and eating habits will be monitored over 8 weeks. Subjects will be evaluated at the following intervals: Baseline, week 2, week 4, week 8, and week 16 (8 weeks post-treatment).

02

Conditions studied

  • Binge-eating Disorder

Keywords

  • Binge
  • Binge-eating disorder
  • Oxytocin
  • Over-eating
  • Impulse Control
03

In context

Binge-Eating Disorder

233 studies on the registry are indexed under Binge-Eating Disorder; 53 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 77 across 190 interventional studies indexed under Binge-Eating Disorder.

Browse Binge-Eating Disorder studies →

Lead sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,586 studies on the registry; 447 are open to participants now.

Of its 222 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 168 (76%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Males and females, 18-70 years old
  • greater than or equal to 18.5
  • BED as assessed by Structured Clinical Interview for Disorders (SCID-5-RV) OR Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) - Binge-eating disorder (of low frequency and/or limited duration) (SCID-5-RV) OR Bulimia Nervosa (BN) through excessive exercise and/or fasting to avoid gaining weight after episodes of binge eating. For individuals with OSFED-BED, the frequency of subjective and objective binge eating episodes will meet the frequency (Criterion D) for BED.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Substance use disorder active within the last 6 months, or clinical suspicion of ongoing substance use disorder at the discretion of the study clinician at the time of screening based on history and/or laboratory results
  • Medication changes that have not reached steady state concentration, measured by the equivalent of 5 half-lives of that medication
  • Use of medications for binge eating disorder or weight loss unless at a stable dose for at least 12 weeks
  • History of any of the following medical conditions: inflammatory bowel disease or untreated thyroid disease
  • Uncontrolled epilepsy (as defined by a seizure within the last 12 months)
  • ventricular arrhythmias, coronary heart disease, known long , and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
  • Hematocrit >2% below normal
  • >8%
  • Use of insulin
  • or AST >2.5 times
  • \< 60 mL/min
  • Hyponatremia. Note that, in order to be randomized, subjects must have Na ≥ 135 mEq/L.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Unwilling to use a medically acceptable form of throughout the study period (female of only)
  • History of psychosis or active suicidal ideation
  • Major depressive disorder likely to require initiation or change in active treatment
  • Borderline personality disorder as assessed by the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD)
  • Current nicotine use, unless stable use for at least 12 weeks.
  • Participation in any clinical study involving an drug, device, or biologic within 1 month of randomization
  • Any significant illness, condition, or medication that the Investigator determines could interfere with study participation and impact data collection or subject safety
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(11)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

DSM diagnostic criteria

The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

QT and QTc

On an ECG, the QT interval is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to activate electrically and recover in each beat. QTc is that time adjusted for heart rate (QTcF by Fridericia’s formula, QTcB by Bazett’s). Some medicines lengthen it, and a long QTc can raise the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.

The study may name a correction formula and a limit in milliseconds, often around 450–480.

HbA1c

A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo Arm

    Solution without oxytocin

    Drug: Placebo

  • Experimental
    TNX-1900

    Solution with oxytocin

    Drug: TNX-1900 (Tonix Pharmaceuticals)

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Binge Frequency

    Change in binge frequency as assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination clinical interview

    Time frame: 8 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Reward sensitivity

    Predictive value of 4-week change in reward sensitivity per the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) Anticipatory Experience of Pleasure subscale score for 8-week change in binge episodes. Higher scores=greater anticipatory pleasuure/less anhedonia. Minimum/Maximum: 10-60

    Time frame: 8 weeks

  2. Impulse control

    Predictive value of 4 week change in impulse control per Stop-Signal Reaction time in a Stop-Signal Task for 8 week change in binge frequency

    Time frame: 8 weeks

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Neuroendocrine Unit Research Center
    Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
    Recruiting
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 14, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05664516
Responsible party
Elizabeth Austen Lawson (Director, Interdisciplinary Oxytocin Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 23, 2022
Start date
Mar 7, 2023
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Feb 28, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 14, 2026

Study contacts

Lauren Shabazian, NP
Contact
lshabazian@mgh.harvard.edu
617-726-0047
Frances Ross
Contact
fross2@mgh.harvard.edu
617-726-0047
Elizabeth A Lawson, MD
principal investigator · Massachusetts General Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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