A Preliminary Open-Label Study of Moclobemide Treatment of Pain Disorder

Antidepressants appear to be useful in the treatment of pain disorders, although the exact underlying mechanisms are unknown. In this preliminary study, we examined the utility of moclobemide, a reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase, in the treatment of 14 patients with pain disorder. The drug was administered in doses up to 450 mg/day for 8 weeks. Assessments of perceived pain and psychological evaluations of patients were carried out weekly using visual assessment scores of pain, depression, anxiety, sleep, difficulty in concentration, dry mouth, sweating, and fatigue. The therapeutic effects of moclobemide on the sense of pain, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, difficulty in concentration, dry mouth, sweating, and fatigue were analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance. Our findings suggest that moclobemide therapy may be an effective, useful option in the management of perceived pain, in addition to its beneficial effects on depression, somatization, and anxiety. Psychopharmacology Bulletin. 2003;37(3):127-134.