Fluvoxamine for somatoform disorders: an open trial.
Although the pharmacologic treatment of somatoform disorders has scarcely been investigated, there is reason to believe that antidepressants might be useful. We examined the response of 29 patients with somatoform disorders from a general medicine clinic to a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluvoxamine. The drug was administered in doses of up to 300 mg daily for 8 weeks. Sixty-one percent of the patients who took medication for at least 2 weeks were at least moderately improved. In addition to antidepressant effects, fluvoxamine had other beneficial effects and was well-tolerated. The benefits of drug therapy were modest but appear to warrant a placebo-controlled trial.
Noyes
R
R
Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, USA.
Happel
R L
RL
Muller
B A
BA
Holt
C S
CS
Kathol
R G
RG
Sieren
L R
LR
Amos
J J
JJ
D000328:Adult; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D016666:Fluvoxamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D016666:Fluvoxamine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors