Pregabalin augmentation for resistant obsessive–compulsive disorder: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial

• Published in: CNS spectrums 2020-08, Vol.25 (4), p.552-556
• Main Authors: Mowla, Arash, Ghaedsharaf, Mehrnoosh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety disorders; Clinical trials; Cognition & reasoning; Double-blind studies; Drug dosages; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Original Research; Patients; Psychologists; Response rates; Thyroid gland
• ISSN: 1092-8529; 2165-6509
• DOI: 10.1017/S1092852919001500

Background and objective.Glutamate dysfunction has been shown to be associated with pathophysiology of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Our objective is to survey the effects of pregabalin (a glutamate-modulating agent) as an augmenting treatment for resistant OCD.Patients and methods.In this 12-week double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, 56 patients with resistant OCD were randomly allocated to receive either pregabalin or placebo plus their current medication (sertraline). Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to evaluate the outcomes. Adverse effects were also registered.Results.Of the 56 patients with resistant OCD who were randomly allocated in 2 groups of pregabalin (n = 28) and placebo group (n = 28), 42 patients (22 in pregabalin group and 20 in placebo group) completed the trial. Throughout the trial, the mean score decreased from 26.13± 7.03 to 8.81 ± 3.47 in the pregabalin group (p < 0) and from 26.85 ± 4.34 to 17.63 ± 4.22 in the placebo group (p < 0). At the end of trial, 16 (57.14%) patients in the pregabalin group and 2 (7.14%) patients in the placebo group showed more than 35% decline in YBOCS (p < .01). The pregabalin group showed good tolerability and safety.Conclusions.Our study revealed that pregabalin, as an augmenting medication, is more effective than placebo in the treatment of patients with resistant OCD.