Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T10:03:26.887Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Does Tryptophan Potentiate Clomipramine in the Treatment of Agoraphobic and Social Phobic Patients?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

J. C. Pecknold
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, McGill University; Chief, Psychopharmacology Services, St Mary's Hospital; and Director, Behaviour Therapy Unit, St Mary's Hospital, 3830 Lacombe, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3T 1M5
D. J. McClure
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, McGill University, St Mary's Hospital
L. Appeltauer
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital
T. Allan
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital
L. Wrzesinski
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital

Summary

A 10 week double blind study of 24 agoraphobics and 16 social phobics all on clomipramine compared the effect of adding tryptophan or placebo. Tryptophan did not potentiate the beneficial effect of clomipramine on phobic avoidance, phobic fears or the incidence of panic attacks. Neither was the presence of depression a factor of outcome.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1982 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amin, M. M., Ban, T. A., Pecknold, J. C. & Klinger, A. (1977) Clomipramine (Anafranil) and behaviour therapy in obsessive-compulsive and phobic disorders. Journal of International Medical Research, 5, (Suppl 5), 33–7.Google Scholar
Ananth, J., Pecknold, J. C., Van Den Steen, N. & Engelsmann, F. (1979) Double blind comparative study of clomipramine in obsessive neurosis. Current Therapeutic Research, 25, 703–9.Google Scholar
Beaumont, G. (1977) A large open multicenter trial of Clomipramine (Anafranil) in the management of phobic disorders. Journal of International Medical Research, 5, (Suppl 5), 116–23.Google Scholar
Carlsson, A., Corrodi, H., Fuxe, K. et al (1969) Effects of some antidepressant drugs on the depletion of intraneuronal brain catecholamine stores caused by 4, a-dimethylmeta-tyramine. European Journal of Pharmacology, 5, 367–73.Google Scholar
Colgan, A. (1975) A pilot study of anafranil in the treatment phobic states. Scottish Medical Journal, 20, 5560.Google Scholar
Coppen, A., Shaw, D. M. & Farrell, J. P. (1963) Potentiation of the antidepressive effect of the monoamine oxidase inhibitor by tryptophan. Lancet, i, 7981.Google Scholar
Glassman, A. H. & Platman, S. R. (1969) Potentiation of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor by tryptophan. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 7, 83–8.Google Scholar
Karabanow, O. (1977) Double-blind controlled study in phobias and obsessions. Journal of International Medical Research, 5, (Suppl 5), 24–8.Google Scholar
Kelly, D., Guirguis, W., Frommer, E., Mitchell-Heggs, N. & Sargant, W. (1970) Treatment of phobic states with antidepressants. British Journal of Psychiatry, 116, 387–98.Google Scholar
Klein, D. F. (1964) Delineation of two drug-responsive anxiety syndromes. Psychopharmacologia, 5, 397408.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klein, D. F. (1967) Importance of psychiatric diagnosis in prediction of clinical drug effects. Archives of General Psychiatry, 16, 118–26.Google Scholar
Klein, D. F. & Fink, M. (1962) Psychiatric reaction patterns to imipramine. American Journal of Psychiatry, 119, 432–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klein, D. F., Zitrin, C. M. & Woerner, M. G. (1978) Antidepressants, anxiety, panic and phobia. In Psychopharmacology: A Generation of Progress (eds. Upton, M. A., Dimascio, A. and William, K. F.). New York: Raven Press, pp 1401–10.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M., Stern, R. S., Mawson, D., Cobb, J. & McDonald, R. (1980) Clomipramine and exposure for obsessive compulsive rituals. British Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 125.Google Scholar
Marshall, W. K. (1971) Treatment of obsessional illnesses and phobic states with clomipramine. British Journal of Psychiatry, 119, 467–74.Google Scholar
Pare, C. M. B. (1963) Potentiation of monoamine oxidase inhibitors by tryptophan. Lancet, ii, 527–9.Google Scholar
Redmond, D. E. (1979) New and old evidence for the involvement of a brain norepinephrine system in anxiety. In Phenomenology and Treatment of Anxiety (ed. Fann, W. E., Karacan, I., Porkorny, A. D. and Williams, R. L.). New York: SP Medical and Science Books, pp 153203.Google Scholar
Sargant, W. (1960) Some newer drugs in the treatment of depression and their relation to other somatic treatments. Psychosomatics, 1, 1417.Google Scholar
Sheehan, D. V., Ballenger, J. & Jacobsen, G. (1980) Treatment of endogenous anxiety with phobic, hysterical and hypochondriacal symptoms. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 51–9.Google Scholar
Solyom, L., Heseltine, G. F. D., McClure, D. J. et al (1973) Behavior therapy vs drug therapy in the treatment of phobic neurosis. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 18, 2532.Google Scholar
Stern, R. S., Marks, I. M., Mawson, D. & Luscombe, D. K. (1980) Clomipramine and exposure for compulsive rituals: Plasma levels, side effects and outcome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 161–6.Google Scholar
Thoren, P., Asberg, M., Cronholm, B., Jornestedt, L. & Traskman, L. (1980) Clomipramine treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a controlled clinical trial. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 1281–5.Google Scholar
Traskman, L., Asberg, M., Bertilsson, B. et al (1979) Plasma levels of chlorimipramine and its demethyl metabolite during treatment of depression. Differential effects of the two compounds on serotonergic and noradrenergic neurons. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 26, 600–10.Google Scholar
Walinder, J., Skott, A., Carlsson, A., Nagy, A. & Bjoen-Erik, R. (1976) Potentiation of the antidepressant action of clomipramine by tryptophan. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 1384–9.Google Scholar
Waxman, D. (1977) A clinical trial of clomipramine and diazepam in the treatment of phobic and obsessive illness. Journal of International Medical Research, 5, (Suppl 5), 99110.Google Scholar
Waxman, D. (1975) An investigation with the use of anafranil in phobic and obsessional disorders. Scottish Medical Journal, 20, 61–6.Google Scholar
West, E. D. & Dally, P. J. (1959) Effects of iproniazid in depressive syndromes. British Medical Journal, i, 1491–4.Google Scholar
Young, S. N. & Sourkes, T. L. (1974) Antidepressant action of tryptophan. Lancet, ii, 897–8.Google Scholar
Zitrin, C. M., Klein, D. F. & Woerner, M. G. (1978) Behavior therapy, supportive psychotherapy, imipramine and phobias. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 307–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.