Observations on mianserin in the treatment of obsessive neuroses

Summary Forty out-patients with obsessive neuroses have been studied so far in an on-going, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial to compare the effectiveness of mianserin and clomipramine. During the first week, patients received 30 mg mianserin, 75 mg clomipramine or placebo daily and then 60 mg mianserin, 150 mg clomipramine or placebo daily for the remaining 3 weeks of the trial period. Preliminary results, based only on clinical evaluation at this stage, indicate that in the mianserin-treated group {13 patients, 3 drop-outs) 6 patients showed a good response (symptomless or nearly symptomless) compared with 4 patients in the clomipramine group (15 patients, 6 dropouts) and only 1 patient in the placebo group (12 patients, 4 drop-outs). Case reports of 2 patients treated openly with mianserin are discussed briefly.