CONCLUSIONS The effects of treatment with clomipramine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs : fluvoxamine , sertraline , fluoxetine , citalopram , and escitalopram ) proved to be similar , except for the lower adherence rate in case of clomipramine because of its side effects .
PURPOSE This systematic review examines the efficacy of pharmacological therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder ( OCD ) , addressing two major issues : which treatment is most effective in treating the patient 's symptoms and which is beneficial for maintaining remission .
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the efficacy and safety of controlled-release fluvoxamine in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
OBJECTIVE The aim of this 12-week , double-blind , flexible-dose , placebo-controlled , parallel-arm , multicenter trial was to determine the safety and efficacy of fluvoxamine in a controlled-release ( CR ) formulation in adult out patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder ( OCD ) . METHOD 253 adult out patients with DSM-IV OCD were r and omly assigned to receive 100 to 300 mg of fluvoxamine CR ( N = 127 ) or placebo ( N = 126 ) once daily for 12 weeks . Intent-to-treat analyses of efficacy assessment s with the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale ( YBOCS ) , Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale ( CGI-S ) , and Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement scale ( CGI-I ) were conducted . RESULTS Fluvoxamine CR was significantly ( p < .05 ) superior to placebo in decreasing YBOCS total score beginning at week 2 . This early response was sustained at all subsequent visits . At endpoint , there was a mean decrease of 8.5 + /- 0.7 ( 31.7 % ) in the YBOCS total score compared with baseline in the fluvoxamine CR treatment group versus a mean decrease of 5.6 + /- 0.7 ( 21.2 % ) in the placebo group ( p = .001 ) . Fluvoxamine CR was also significantly superior to placebo in lowering the severity of illness ( CGI-S , p = .002 ) and in producing clinical improvement ( CGI-I , p < .01 ) . At endpoint , significantly greater percentages of the fluvoxamine CR treatment group were responders ( p = .002 ) and remitters ( p = .019 ) compared with the placebo group . CONCLUSION Over 12 weeks , fluvoxamine CR treatment was associated with a statistically significant and clinical ly relevant reduction in OCD severity and was found to be safe and well tolerated . The early onset of therapeutic effect , starting from week 2 , was of particular interest
CONCLUSIONS The effects of treatment with clomipramine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs : fluvoxamine , sertraline , fluoxetine , citalopram , and escitalopram ) proved to be similar , except for the lower adherence rate in case of clomipramine because of its side effects .
PURPOSE This systematic review examines the efficacy of pharmacological therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder ( OCD ) , addressing two major issues : which treatment is most effective in treating the patient 's symptoms and which is beneficial for maintaining remission .