Search

The aim of this prospectively randomized, double-blind, parallel group, multicentre study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of fluvoxamine and clomipramine in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (DSM-III-R). Fourteen centres participated in this trial. Sixty-eight patients were randomized to receive fluvoxamine and 65 to receive clomipramine. The duration of the study was 10 weeks. The two treatment groups showed a marked improvement of obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, as determined by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the National Institute of Mental Health Obsessive-Compulsive Global Scale and Clinical Global Impression. No statistically significant differences were found between fluvoxamine and clomipramine in terms of efficacy during the study. A similar number of patients in each group withdrew from the study prematurely, but there were more dropouts due to adverse events in the clomipramine group. Concerning tolerability, there were significantly more reports of constipation and dry mouth in the clomipramine group. The results show that fluvoxamine and clomipramine have similar efficacy in the treatment of patients suffering from OCD, but fluvoxamine is better tolerated. In view of the superior safety profile of fluvoxamine compared to clomipramine in terms of a risk-benefit assessment, the use of fluvoxamine would appear to be advantageous for this patient population.

On the basis of recent results indicating that adjuvant pindolol has the positive effect of shortening latency to antidepressant response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the primary aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of pindolol on latency to antiobsessional response to fluvoxamine. Fifteen non-depressed obsessive-compulsive inpatients (six men and nine women) were consecutively recruited and randomly assigned to an 8-week standardized double-blind treatment with fluvoxamine and pindolol (group A) or fluvoxamine and placebo (group B). Patients were assessed weekly using rating scales for obsessive-compulsive disorder [Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), National Institute of Mental Health Obsessive-Compulsive Scale], co-occurent depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depression Scale) and global function (Clinical Global Improvement), from baseline to the end of the study. In accordance with data from the literature, response to treatment was defined as a reduction in YBOCS total scores of > or = 35% and a score on the 'global improvement' item of the Clinical Global Improvement of < 3. Data were analysed using analyses of variance with repeated measures performed on YBOCS and Hamilton Depression Scale scores to evaluate the mean quantitative response within and between groups and, additionally, employing a survival analysis to compute the percentage of responders within each group. Neither quantitative nor qualitative analysis revealed any differences between the two treatment groups, and pindolol did not shorten the latency of antiobsessional response to fluvoxamine. The results of this preliminary study indicate that different biological mechanisms underly the antiobsessional and antidepressant responses to fluvoxamine.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been successfully treated with proserotonergic agents for some years. Clomipramine was the first drug used, but several clinical trials have been conducted more recently to assess the antiobsessional efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The aim of this study was to compare the antiobsessional efficacy of three SSRIs, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and citalopram. Thirty obsessive-compulsive patients without comorbid axis I diagnoses except for tic disorder as assessed by DSM-III-R criteria gave informed consent and were recruited consecutively; they underwent a 10-week randomized treatment with fluvoxamine, paroxetine, or citalopram. Ratings were performed under blind conditions every 2 weeks from baseline to the end of the study and by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the National Institute of Mental Health-Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the Clinical Global Impressions Scale, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the antiobsessional efficacy of the three drugs were completed with analysis of variance with repeated measures and survival analysis. The results showed no significant differences between the three treatments. The preliminary conclusions drawn from this study concern the interchangeable antiobsessional effects of different SSRIs, although further studies of "cross-response" to these drugs are needed.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether obsessive-compulsive patients previously treated successfully with clomipramine or fluvoxamine could tolerate reduction of the daily dosage without worsening of the clinical condition. Thirty informed obsessive-compulsive patients, given a diagnosis according to DSM-III-R criteria, were recruited consecutively into the study. Patients were blindly assigned to one of the groups of treatment with different rates of reduction of the previously effective daily drug dosage: group 1 (control group, no reduction), group 2 (reduction of 33-40%), and group 3 (reduction of 60-66%). The entire study lasted 102 days. From baseline to the end of the study, the clinical condition was evaluated by the administration of standardized tests (Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Clinical Global Impression [CGI] scale), and blood samples were collected for plasma drug level determinations. The criterion for discontinuation of the study was the worsening of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, arbitrarily defined by an increase of > 5% from the baseline total Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale score, as measured in two successive assessments, and a worsening of global clinical condition as measured by the CGI scale. The main result of the study was borne out from the survival analysis. There were no significant differences in the cumulative proportion of patients from each group of treatment who did not worsen during the 102 days of observation. This preliminary result, which needs to be confirmed in larger samples, suggests that long-term maintenance therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder might be provided with lower dosages of the antiobsessional drug, with clear advantages for tolerability and compliance.