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Efficacy of Combined Antidepressant Therapy in Resistant Neurotic Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Peter Tyrer*
Affiliation:
St Charles' Hospital, London W10 6DZ
Siobhan Murphy
Affiliation:
St Thomas's Hospital, London
*
Correspondence

Abstract

A 35-year-old woman with persistent affective and phobic symptoms responded dramatically to a combination of isocarboxazid and amitriptyline, and this improvement was maintained over the next three-and-a-half years. Isocarboxazid was replaced by placebo, using double-blind procedure. The change to placebo was accompanied by a marked increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms, which resolved when active isocarboxazid was reintroduced. It is suggested that combined antidepressant therapy still has a place in the treatment of resistant neurotic disorder.

Type
Brief Reports
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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