PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF SOCIAL PHOBIA - A DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY WITH FLUVOXAMINE

Previous studies have shown selective and nonselective monoamine oxida se inhibitors (MAOIs) to be effective in the treatment of social phobi a. In this study we investigated the efficacy of selective serotonin r euptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in social phobia. Thirty patients with soci al phobia (DSM-IIIR) were treated with the SSRI fluvoxamine (150 mg da ily) using a 12-week double-blind placebo controlled design. A substan tial improvement was observed in seven (46%) patients on fluvoxamine a nd in one (7%) on placebo. Statistically significant effects were seen on measures of social anxiety and general (or anticipatory) anxiety i n patients treated with fluvoxamine compared with placebo. The level o f phobic avoidance decreased also but the difference at endpoint betwe en fluvoxamine and placebo failed to reach statistical significance. I t is concluded that treatment with the SSRI fluvoxamine has beneficial effects in patients suffering from social phobia, suggesting that ser otonergic mechanisms might be implicated in social anxiety.