an efficacy and safety study of vortioxetine (lu aa21004) in treating generalized anxiety disorder

Conditions: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Summary: the purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of vortioxetine, once daily (qd), in treating generalized anxiety disorder.

the drug that was tested in this study is called vortioxetine. vortioxetine is being tested to treat anxiety in adults who have general anxiety disorder (gad). this study looked at gad relief in people who took vortioxetine. the study enrolled 304 patients. participants were randomly assigned (by chance, like flipping a coin) to one of the two treatment groups-which remained undisclosed to the patient and study doctor during the study (unless there was an urgent medical need): * vortioxetine 5 mg * placebo (dummy inactive pill) - this was a capsule that looked like the study drug but had no active ingredient. all participants were asked to take one capsule at the same time each day throughout the study. this multi-center trial was conducted in the united states. the overall time to participate in this study was up to 13 weeks. participants made 7 visits to the clinic, and were contacted by telephone 4 weeks after the last dose of study drug for a follow-up assessment.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * has a primary diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder according to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edition, text revision (dsm-iv-tr®) criteria. * has a hamilton anxiety scale total score greater than or equal to 20 at screening and baseline. * has a hamilton anxiety scale score greater than or equal to 2 on both item 1 (anxious mood) and item 2 (tension) at screening and baseline. * has a montgomery-åsberg depression rating scale total score less than or equal to 16 at screening and baseline. exclusion criteria: * has 1 or more of the following: * any current psychiatric disorder other than generalized anxiety disorder as defined in the dsm-iv-tr (as assessed by the mini international neuropsychiatric interview \[mini\]). * current or past history of: manic or hypomanic episode, schizophrenia or any other psychotic disorder, including major depression with psychotic features, mental retardation, organic mental disorders, or mental disorders due to a general medical condition as defined in the dsm-iv-tr. * any substance disorder (except nicotine and caffeine) within the previous 6 months as defined in the dsm-iv-tr® and subject must have a negative urine drug screen prior to baseline. * presence or history of a clinically significant neurological disorder (including epilepsy). * neurodegenerative disorder (alzheimer disease, parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, huntington disease, etc.). * any axis ii disorder that might compromise the study. * is taking excluded medications. * has a significant risk of suicide according to the investigator's opinion or has a score greater than or equal to 5 on item 10 (suicidal thoughts) of the montgomery-åsberg depression rating scale or has made a suicide attempt in the previous 6 months. * has previously failed to respond to adequate treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and/or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. * has received electroconvulsive therapy within 6 months prior to screening. * is currently receiving formal cognitive or behavioral therapy, systematic psychotherapy, or plans to initiate such therapy during the study. * has a clinically significant unstable illness. * has an alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, or total bilirubin level greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal. * has a serum creatinine of greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal. * has a previous history of cancer that had been in remission for less than 5 years. * has thyroid stimulating hormone value outside the normal range at screening and is deemed clinically significant by the investigator. * has an abnormal electrocardiogram.

Keywords: generalized anxiety disorder mood disorder affective disorder anxiety disorder drug therapy