Mood improvement in 'normal' volunteers

To test the hypothesis that clomipramine is effective in improving subthreshold non-specific symptoms in subjects without any established psychopathology, we conducted a double-blind, cross-over controlled trial of clomipramine (oral doses of 10-40 mg/day) and propanteline (active placebo) for 5 weeks in nine normal volunteers. Four other subjects completed the first part of the trial. These subjects were selected from 275 respondents to newspaper and radio requests for subjects who considered themselves as normal but were unhappy about their usual moods. They did not reach cut-off scores in the Self-Report Questionnaire and did not meet diagnostic criteria for any lifetime or current ICD-10 or DSM-III-R condition, as assessed by an open psychiatric interview and the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry. Despite the small sample and the low level of initial symptomatology, both subjects and observers consistently detected significant improvements with clomipramine in a number of assessments of mood, notably decreased irritability and anxiety. This controlled trial suggests that it is possible to improve subclinical complaints through psychopharmacological agents, raises questions about the mechanisms of their action and discusses their implications.