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L‐carnosine as an adjuvant to fluvoxamine in treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder: A randomized double‐blind study
Author(s) -
Arabzadeh Somaye,
Shahhossenie Maryam,
Mesgarpour Bita,
Rezaei Farzin,
Shalbafan Mohammad Reza,
Ghiasi Zahra,
Akhondzadeh Shahin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.2584
Subject(s) - fluvoxamine , placebo , medicine , randomized controlled trial , carnosine , obsessive compulsive , adjuvant , riluzole , gastroenterology , psychology , glutamate receptor , fluoxetine , psychiatry , serotonin , pathology , receptor , alternative medicine
Background Dysregulation of glutamate is implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD). Consistently, glutamate‐modulating agents, such as riluzole and memantine have been used in OCD treatment. Previous research has identified some neuroprotective role for L‐carnosine potentially via its modulatory effect on glutamate. Here, we assessed the efficacy of L‐carnosine as adjuvant to fluvoxamine in OCD treatment. Methods Forty‐four patients diagnosed with moderate to severe OCD were recruited in a randomized double‐blind trial. Patients received either L‐carnosine or placebo as adjuvant to fluvoxamine for 10 weeks. The Yale‐ Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y‐BOCS) was used for assessing the severity of symptoms at baseline and at weeks 4, 8, and 10. Results General linear model repeated measure showed significant effects for Time × Treatment interaction on total Y‐BOCS [ F (2.10, 88.42) = 8.66, p < 0.001], obsession [ F (1.88, 79.34) = 4.96, p = 0.01] and compulsion [ F (1.88, 79.11) = 4.57, p = 0.01]. At week 10, the change from baseline in Y‐BOCS scores was 8.86 ± 2.89 (mean ± SD) in the L‐carnosine group compared to 5.86 ± 2.88 in the placebo group. Conclusion L‐carnosine results in significant reduction of obsessive‐compulsive symptoms when used as an adjuvant to fluvoxamine.