Pindolol augmentation in treatment-resistant obsessive compulsive disorder: a double-blind placebo controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of pindolol augmentation in treatment-resistant obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients who were unsuccessfully treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors.


METHODS
Fourteen treatment-resistant OCD patients were treated with paroxetine for 17.4+/-2.1 weeks up to 60 mg/d after they failed at least two other serotonin reuptake inhibitor trials. The patients, who did not respond to open-label paroxetine treatment, were assigned to a double-blind, placebo-controlled pindolol (2.5 mgx3/d) augmentation. All the subjects were evaluated biweekly for a six-week period with the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-Anx), and Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Data was analyzed by paired t-test, and ANOVA with repeated measures.


RESULTS
Pindolol augmentation to paroxetine (n=8) as compared to placebo augmentation (n=6), was associated with a significant (P<0.01) improvement in Y-BOCS as measured by paired t-test after the fourth week of the treatment and by ANOVA with repeated measures (df: 4.9, f: 3,3, P<0.006). Although no significant differences were found between placebo and pindolol groups on HAM-Anx and MADRS, a trend for improvement in the pindolol group was noted.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of our study demonstrated that pindolol may augment the therapeutic effect of paroxetine in treatment-resistant OCD patients.
Dannon
P N
PN
Psychiatry Department, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
Sasson
Y
Y
Hirschmann
S
S
Iancu
I
I
Grunhaus
L J
LJ
Zohar
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010869:Pindolol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D017374:Paroxetine; D010869:Pindolol; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors