Two trials examined olanzapine and found no difference in the primary outcome ( response to treatment ) and most other efficacy-related outcomes but it was associated with more weight gain than monotherapy with antidepressants .
There were also some beneficial effects of quetiapine in terms of anxiety or depressive symptoms .
BACKGROUND Obsessive compulsive disorder ( OCD ) is a psychiatric disorder which has been shown to affect 2 to 3.5 % of people during their lifetimes .
Inadequate response occurs in 40 % to 60 % of people that are prescribed first line pharmaceutical treatments ( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) ) .
To date not much is known about the efficacy and adverse effects of second-generation antipsychotic drugs ( SGAs ) in people suffering from OCD .
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effects of SGAs ( monotherapy or add on ) compared with placebo or other forms of pharmaceutical treatment for people with OCD .
Olanzapine augmentation for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder.
BACKGROUND Adding the atypical neuroleptic risperidone to a serotonin reuptake inhibitor ( SRI ) has benefited patients with treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder ( OCD ) . Since olanzapine and risperidone have similar serotonergic and dopaminergic receptor binding profiles , we tested the hypothesis that olanzapine augmentation would be beneficial in treatment-unresponsive OCD . METHOD For this 8-week trial , we recruited 10 adult OCD patients ( DSM-IV criteria ) unresponsive to fluoxetine ( > or = 60 mg/day ) for > or = 10 weeks , which was continued throughout the trial . Other psychotropic medications were discontinued . Subjects had OCD for > or = 1 year , a Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale ( Y-BOCS ) score of > or = 18 , and no organic , psychotic , or other primary Axis I disorder . Two weeks after olanzapine , 2.5 mg/day , was added , and in the absence of responder status ( Y-BOCS score decrease > or = 25 % ) and limiting side effects , we increased the dose to 5 mg/day , and after 2 more weeks , to 10 mg/day for 4 weeks . RESULTS The subjects had failed a mean of 3.3 SRI trials ( range , 1 - 5 ) and had a mean + /- SD baseline Y-BOCS score of 29.0 + /- 4.9 . Nine patients completed the trial . The subjects ' mean + /- SD endpoint Y-BOCS score was 24.4 + /- 8.0 ( a 16 % decrease ) . The 3 responders ' Y-BOCS scores dropped 68 % , 30 % , and 29 % , but only 1 patient was rated " much improved . " He maintained this improvement during a 6-month follow-up period taking olanzapine , 5 mg/day . Improvement in OCD was independent of improvement in mood symptoms . Six patients ( 60 % ) experienced significant weight gain . CONCLUSION Olanzapine augmentation may benefit treatment-unresponsive OCD . Double-blind , placebo-controlled trials are warranted along with trials comparing risperidone and olanzapine augmentation
Two trials examined olanzapine and found no difference in the primary outcome ( response to treatment ) and most other efficacy-related outcomes but it was associated with more weight gain than monotherapy with antidepressants .
There were also some beneficial effects of quetiapine in terms of anxiety or depressive symptoms .
BACKGROUND Obsessive compulsive disorder ( OCD ) is a psychiatric disorder which has been shown to affect 2 to 3.5 % of people during their lifetimes .
Inadequate response occurs in 40 % to 60 % of people that are prescribed first line pharmaceutical treatments ( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) ) .
To date not much is known about the efficacy and adverse effects of second-generation antipsychotic drugs ( SGAs ) in people suffering from OCD .
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effects of SGAs ( monotherapy or add on ) compared with placebo or other forms of pharmaceutical treatment for people with OCD .