Pregabalin augmentation in treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder

Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2011 Jul;26(4):221-4. doi: 10.1097/YIC.0b013e3283466657.

Abstract

The therapeutic limitations of mainstay psychopharmacological treatments of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) warrant the clinical testing of further add-on agents to improve patients' clinical symptoms. One such agent might be pregabalin, which has been found efficacious in other anxiety disorders. We report on the findings of a small, 8-week open-label trial of adjunctive pregabalin with a 4-week follow-up in 10 OCD patients resistant or only partial responders to a combination of serotonin reuptake inhibitors with atypical antipsychotics. Adjunctive pregabalin at 225-675 mg/d was well tolerated and led to patients' substantial improvement in their OCD symptoms, as reflected in their scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Despite the several limitations of the study, its results suggest that adjunctive pregabalin might be a safe and efficacious new augmentation agent in the treatment of drug-resistant OCD. We hypothesize that pregabalin's mechanism of action in OCD might consist in its inhibition of glutamatergic neurotransmission.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-Anxiety Agents / administration & dosage
  • Anti-Anxiety Agents / adverse effects
  • Anti-Anxiety Agents / therapeutic use
  • Antipsychotic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Drug Resistance*
  • Drug Therapy, Combination / adverse effects
  • Drug Therapy, Combination / methods
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / diagnosis
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / drug therapy*
  • Pregabalin
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Young Adult
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / administration & dosage
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / adverse effects
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / analogs & derivatives*
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Anti-Anxiety Agents
  • Antipsychotic Agents
  • Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors
  • Pregabalin
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid