A preliminary randomized double-blind clinical trial on the efficacy of celecoxib
as an adjunct in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Author(s): Sayyah M, Boostani H, Pakseresht S, Malayeri A.
Affiliation(s): Education Development Center (EDC), Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences,
Ahwaz, Iran. sayah_bargard@Hotmail.com
Publication date & source: 2011, Psychiatry Res. , 189(3):403-6
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a common neuropsychiatric condition. Although a
variety of pharmaceutical agents is available for its treatment, psychiatrists
have found that many patients cannot tolerate the side effects, do not respond to
treatment adequately, and may finally discontinue their treatment. However,
augmentation strategies have been shown to have some benefits in the treatment of
OCD. These include reducing both the overall cost of treatment and the side
effects. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of celecoxib as an
adjuvant agent in the treatment of OCD in an 8-week, double-blind, placebo
controlled trial. To this end, 25 patients were assigned to a study group and
were given fluoxetine 20mg/day plus celecoxib 400mg/day (200mg BID). The control
group included 25 patients who were given fluoxetine 20mg/day plus placebo. Both
protocols significantly lowered scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive
Scale over the trial period. The combination of fluoxetine and celecoxib
decreased the symptoms of obsessions and compulsions significantly more than
fluoxetine plus placebo. The results of this study suggest that celecoxib can be
an effective adjuvant agent in the management of patients with OCD; therefore,
anti-inflammatory therapies should be further investigated.
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