title: Low-dose risperidone augmentation of fluvoxamine treatment in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
abstract: According to previous data, the addition of risperidone in obsessive-compulsive patients refractory to serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) is shown to be a safe and effective treatment strategy. The aims of our study were to evaluate the efficacy of risperidone addition, in comparison to placebo, in fluvoxamine-refractory obsessive-compulsive patients and to investigate whether risperidone could boost the efficacy of fluvoxamine in fluvoxamine-responder patients. Subjects were 45 obsessive-compulsive inpatients, consecutively recruited at the Department of Neurosciences at the San Raffaele Hospital, Milan. Thirty-nine patients completed the study. All patients received 12 weeks of a standardized open-label fluvoxamine monotherapy and then continued for 6 weeks with placebo or risperidone in a double-blind design. Results showed a significant effect of risperidone addition, at the end of the double-blind phase (18th week), only for fluvoxamine-refractory patients. Five patients on risperidone (50%) and two (20%) on placebo became responders, with a Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) decrease > or =35%. Risperidone was generally well tolerated, except for a mild transient sedation and a mild increase in appetite. This preliminary study suggests that even very low (0.5 mg) risperidone doses are effective in OC patients who were nonresponders to a standardized treatment with fluvoxamine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, San Raffaele Hospital, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Stamira d'Ancona 20, 20127 Milan, Italy. erzegovesi.stefano@hsr.it
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erzegovesi
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guglielmo
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Siliprandi
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellodi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D016666:Fluvoxamine / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018967:Risperidone / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D018967:Risperidone; D016666:Fluvoxamine