title: Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder with clomipramine and desipramine in children and adolescents. A double-blind crossover comparison.
abstract: Forty-eight children and adolescents with severe primary obsessive-compulsive disorder completed a 10-week double-blind crossover trial of clomipramine hydrochloride (mean dose [+/- SD], 150 +/- 53 mg/d) and desipramine hydrochloride (mean dose [+/- SD], 153 +/- 55 mg/d). Clomipramine was clearly superior to desipramine in significantly reducing obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Age at onset, duration and severity of illness, type of symptom, and plasma drug concentrations did not predict clinical response to clomipramine. Sixty-four percent of patients who received clomipramine as their first active treatment showed at least some sign of relapse during desipramine treatment. We further document the specificity of the antiobsessional effect of clomipramine and the need for maintenance treatment.
authors.affiliation: Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md 20892.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Swedo
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rapoport
authors.forename: E V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Koby
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lenane
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Cheslow
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Hamburger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D002997:Clomipramine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003891:Desipramine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D010919:Placebos; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos; D002997:Clomipramine; D003891:Desipramine