Pharmacotherapy of obsessive-compulsive disorder: experience with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Since the introduction of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) a decade ago, they have become first-line agents in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Numerous clinical trials have confirmed their efficacy, and established their superior risk-benefit ratio in comparison with clomipramine, a non-selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Relatively higher doses and longer duration of treatment may be necessary to effect a response in OCD, with long-term treatment being required to maintain therapeutic gains. Despite the advances represented by the SSRIs, treatment resistance remains a problem. While no one solution exists, various strategies, including pharmacotherapy augmentation, look promising.
Vythilingum
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B
MRC Anxiety and Stress Disorders Research Unit, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa.
Cartwright
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C
Hollander
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E
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004351:Drug Resistance; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors