A remarkable response of chronic severe obsessive-compulsive neurosis to phenelzine

The author describes a 22-year-old male who suffered from chronic severe Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis (OCN) complicated by frequent depressive episodes. Administering the monoamine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine in high dosage led to complete alleviation of his depression in 10 weeks, and 3 weeks afterwards the OCN was markedly improved. The illness relapsed shortly after discontinuance of the drug.