An Long Term Trial on Effectiveness and Safety of Atypical Antipsychotic Agents in Augmenting SSRI-Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

More recently, second-generation atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPD) that modulate both 5-HT and DA function, such as risperidone (RIS), olanzapine (OLZ) and quetiapine (QET), have been found effective in the augmentation of SSRIs for treatment-resistant OCD.

Nevertheless, the AAPDs have been associated with common and serious adverse effects, such as body weight (BW) gain and metabolic dysregulation. Metabolic dysregulation includes glucoregulatory dysfunction and dyslipidemia. Indeed, studies of some AAPD in SSRI-refractory OCD patients have similarly reported significant BW gain. AAPD-induced BW gain may influence patients' adherence to medication and places them at risk for a broad range of medical problems.

Most work on AAPDs in treatment-refractory OCD has been conducted in the form of short-term efficacy studies. There have been fewer studies of the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of these agents in the context of a clinic where CBT is also provided, and where treatment is continued for a significant period of time. In the current effectiveness study, we sought to examine the response of SSRI-refractory patients to augmentation with AAPDs, comparing adverse events in such compared to a control group of SSRI responders.