Thirty-eight patients with primary obsessive-compulsive disorder
participated in a 10-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the
potent, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine. Fluvoxamine was
significantly better than placebo on two of three measures of improvement
in obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The authors also compared studies of the
serotonergic agents fluvoxamine, sertraline, fluoxetine, and clomipramine
and found that a greater effect size was associated with less serotonergic
specificity and that some ability to affect other neurotransmitter systems
may be a necessary but not sufficient requirement for antiobsessional
activity. These data lend only partial support to a serotonin hypothesis of
obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Abstract Teaser