The Nation - News from Oct. 20, 1986

The first drug proved effective for obsessive-compulsive disorder is being obtained illegally in Canada by hundreds of Americans because it is not available here, Dr. Thomas Insel of the National Institute of Mental Health said at the annual meeting of the Phobia Society of America in New York City. Insel said surveys have found that about 5 million Americans suffer from the disorder. The drug, clomipramine, also called chlorimipramine, is in a category of drugs called tricyclic anti-depressants. It is available in Canada, Mexico and Europe, Insel said, but has not won approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Its manufacturer, Ciba Pharmaceutical Co. of Summit, N.J., has begun U.S. trials of the drug, Insel said.