TRATAMENTO FARMACOLOGICO DO TRANSTORNO OBSESSIVO-COMPULSIVO

Abstract

Recent epidemiological studies show that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is far more frequent than it was used to be thought. The disorder is highly incapacitating. A 'serotoninergic' etiological hypothesis, although simplistic, is under study. In the eighties it was shown that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder responds rather well to certain drugs, 'serotoninergic' antidepressants, clomipramine, or classical monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tranylcypromine. The most prominent therapeutic effects are obtained with high dosages, 3000 mg/day of clomipramine or 60 mg/day tranylcypromine. The confirmation of the efficacy of '2nd generation compounds' (fluoxetine or moclobemide) demands further studies. The drugs induce numerous unwanted effects and dosages should be increased slowly. Studies on the long term treatment, with these drugs, are in an initial stage, including the Anxiety and Depression Research of the Institute of Psychiatry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.