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Current Drug Discovery Technologies

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ISSN (Print): 1570-1638
ISSN (Online): 1875-6220

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Clinical Trial

Comparing the Effects of a Herbal Drug based on Echium Amoenum With Fluvoxamine in the Treatment of Adolescents with Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

Author(s): Mohamad Reza Noras, Atefeh Soltanifar, Roshanak Salari, Lida Jarahi and Maryam Hosseini Abrishami*

Volume 19, Issue 5, 2022

Published on: 17 August, 2022

Article ID: e240622206368 Pages: 7

DOI: 10.2174/1570163819666220624093416

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe and debilitating neuropsychiatric condition. Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, and cognitive- behavioral therapy are the first-line medication and treatment for OCD, an estimated 30% of patients are treatment-resistant, and complete functional recovery is rare. Natural products as adjuvant or alternative therapies should be examined to find safer and more effective ways to manage OCD.

Objectives: To investigate the potential benefits of a combined herbal drug based on Echium amoenum in treating OCD.

Methods: Design and Setting: In the psychiatric clinics of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 40 patients who met the criteria for the obsessive-compulsive disorder based on DSM-5 were studied in a parallel, double-blind, randomized clinical trial.

Intervention: Subjects were randomly assigned to receive Echium amoenum-Melissa officinalis syrup and fluvoxamine or placebo syrup and fluvoxamine for 8 weeks.

Outcome Measures: The efficacy of treatment and recurrence of disease were surveyed and compared according to the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale at weeks 0, 4, and 8.

Results: Evaluation at the 4th and 8th week showed no significant differences between the two groups (p-value = 0.11, p-value = 0.445, respectively). At the 8th week of treatment, patients in the intervention group showed a remarkable reduction in scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale questionnaire (p- value= 0.003), and patients in the control group didn’t ((p- value= 0.180). This study showed that the E.amoneum-M.officinalis syrup was not significantly more efficacious than the fluvoxamine tablet, but the intervention group showed a significant improving trend (p-value= 0.001).

Conclusion: While monotherapy is usually the gold standard methodology, combination or augmentation therapy may also be of merit. Consequently, studies with larger sample sizes and the inclusion of para-clinical assessments such as serologic tests can further shed light on the mechanism of action of the E. amoneum- M. officinalis syrup and deepen our understanding of its effects.

Keywords: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, adolescent, fluvoxamine, echium amoenum, melissa officinalis, persian medicine.

Graphical Abstract

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