Dropout rates did not differ between antidepressants .
The latter study showed very promising results of  sertraline  in children and adolescents with GAD , which warrants its replication in larger sample s. REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS The available evidence suggests that antidepressants are superior to placebo in treating GAD .
There is also evidence from placebo-controlled trials suggesting that these drugs are well tolerated by GAD patients .
Further trials of antidepressants for GAD will help to demonstrate which antidepressants should be used for which patients
BACKGROUND Pharmacological treatments have been successfully used to treat  Generalized Anxiety Disorder ( GAD ) .
The mainstay for the pharmacological treatment of GAD in past decades has been the use of benzodiazepine and non benzodiazepine anxiolytics .
Data emerging over the last two decades have shown that antidepressants may be equally effective to anxiolytics for treating GAD .
The use of antidepressants for treating GAD may be advantageous , due to the fact that GAD presents a high co morbidity ratio with major depressive disorder ( 62 % ) and dysthymia ( 37 % ) .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and acceptability of antidepressants for treating generalized anxiety disorder .
Efficacy of venlafaxine extended-release capsules in nondepressed outpatients with generalized anxiety disorder: A 6-month randomized controlled trial.
CONTEXT Generalized anxiety disorder ( GAD ) is a chronic disorder that is associated with debilitating psychic and somatic symptoms . Venlafaxine extended-release ( XR ) capsules have been shown to be effective in short-term treatment of patients with GAD without major depressive disorder ( MDD ) , but long-term data are needed to establish whether this agent confers persistent benefits . OBJECTIVE To compare the 6-month efficacy and safety of a flexible dosage of venlafaxine XR in out patients with GAD without associated MDD . DESIGN Six-month , r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled , parallel-group trial conducted May 1996 to October 1997 . SETTING Fourteen outpatient clinics and private psychiatric practice s in the United States . PARTICIPANTS A total of 251 out patients aged 18 years or older who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fourth Edition ( DSM-IV ) criteria for GAD , had sufficient symptoms to require treatment , and did not have coexisting MDD . INTERVENTIONS Participants were r and omly assigned to receive either placebo ( n=127 ) or venlafaxine XR ( 75 , 150 , or 225 mg/d , as required to control symptoms ; n=124 ) for 28 weeks . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Changes from baseline in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety ( HAM-A ) total score , the HAM-A psychic anxiety factor score , and the Clinical Global Impressions ( CGI ) scale Severity of Illness and Global Improvement scores , compared by intervention group . RESULTS During weeks 6 through 28 , response rates in the venlafaxine XR group were 69 % or higher compared with rates of 42 % to 46 % in the placebo group ( P<.001 ) . By an evaluable-patient analysis , venlafaxine XR compared with placebo significantly improved anxiety scores from week 1 or 2 through week 28 on all primary efficacy measures , including the HAM-A total ( P<.001 ) , the HAM-A psychic anxiety factor ( P<.001 ) , and the CGI scale scores ( P<.001 ) . Adjusted mean changes from baseline to week 28 using last-observation-carried-forward methods were for HAM-A , venlafaxine XR -13.4 , placebo -8.7 ( P<.001 ) ; for HAM-A psychic anxiety score , venlafaxine XR -7.4 , placebo -4.2 ( P<.001 ) ; and for CGI-Improvement , venlafaxine XR 2.2 , placebo 3.0 ( P<.001 ) . The most common treatment-emergent adverse event was nausea , followed by somnolence and dry mouth . CONCLUSIONS This study is the first placebo-controlled demonstration of the long-term efficacy of any drug class in treating out patients with DSM-IV-diagnosed GAD .  Venlafaxine XR is an effective , rapidly acting , safe , once-daily agent for both the short- and long-term treatment of anxiety and may provide an important alternative to currently available anxiolytics . JAMA . 2000
Dropout rates did not differ between antidepressants .
The latter study showed very promising results of  sertraline  in children and adolescents with GAD , which warrants its replication in larger sample s. REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS The available evidence suggests that antidepressants are superior to placebo in treating GAD .
There is also evidence from placebo-controlled trials suggesting that these drugs are well tolerated by GAD patients .
Further trials of antidepressants for GAD will help to demonstrate which antidepressants should be used for which patients
BACKGROUND Pharmacological treatments have been successfully used to treat  Generalized Anxiety Disorder ( GAD ) .
The mainstay for the pharmacological treatment of GAD in past decades has been the use of benzodiazepine and non benzodiazepine anxiolytics .
Data emerging over the last two decades have shown that antidepressants may be equally effective to anxiolytics for treating GAD .
The use of antidepressants for treating GAD may be advantageous , due to the fact that GAD presents a high co morbidity ratio with major depressive disorder ( 62 % ) and dysthymia ( 37 % ) .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and acceptability of antidepressants for treating generalized anxiety disorder .