Comparison of Efficacy of Fluoxetine-Haloperidol vs. Fluoxetine-Placebo in Obsessive-Compulsive Patients

This study was designed to investigate the possibility of dopaminergic involve-ment in obsessive-compulsive patients (OCD). Method This double-blind study compared the efficacy of fluoxetine-haloperidol with that of fluoxetine-placebo in two groups, each comprised of 12 subjects. These subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorders were selected on the basis of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria; they were asse- ssed by a demographic questionnaire and Yale-Brown Scale for evaluating obsessive-compul- sive disorders. Findings The results showed that the response to treatment in haloperidol-fluoxetine group was somewhat better than the fluoxetine-placebo group from the first week of the study. The difference was significant at the third visit (end of fourth week). Results In addition to serotonin neurotransmitter system, dopaminergic system may play a role in pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder.