title: Efficacy of long-term fluoxetine treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: Ten outpatients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder completed a 32-week, open-label study with fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake blocker. The patients were evaluated every four weeks for obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, anxiety, and depression. Significant improvement of obsessive-compulsive and anxiety measures were observed after four weeks, with maximal improvement at eight weeks. Depressed and nondepressed patients showed similar rates of improvement in obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. Overall, fluoxetine was tolerated well by all patients, and no serious side effects were observed. This study suggests that fluoxetine is an effective and safe treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, both for short-term alleviation and for long-term maintenance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY 10003.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frenkel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nezu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Winston
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005473:Fluoxetine