Monotherapy with quetiapine seems to be efficacious in reducing symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder and this effect may be similar to that of antidepressants .
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders are common and disabling conditions , with a lifetime prevalence of 17 % in the general population .
Due to high rates of treatment resistance , there is interest in new pharmacological treatment options such as second-generation antipsychotics .
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of second-generation antipsychotics as monotherapy or adjunctive treatment for people with anxiety disorders .
Treatment of residual anxiety symptoms with adjunctive aripiprazole in depressed patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
BACKGROUND Depression and anxiety are common disorders and have substantially overlapping symptom complexes . Not surprisingly , treatment approaches are similar for both conditions with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) as the initial therapy of choice . However , after first line treatments have been deployed , residual symptoms are often problematic . Augmentation strategies to address these difficulties are an area of active investigation . This study assessed aripiprazole as adjunctive therapy to SSRIs for patients with persistent anxiety symptoms complicating a depression or anxiety disorder . METHODS Ten patients who had been receiving SSRIs for at least 6 weeks , but still had clinical ly significant anxiety symptoms , were enrolled in an open label , flexibly-dosed study of adjunctive aripiprazole . Clinical status was assessed with the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale ( HAM-A ) , Montgomery Asberg Rating Scale ( MADRS ) , and Sheehan Disability Scale ( SDS ) . RESULTS Eighty percent of the subjects had a greater than 50 % reduction of symptoms on these outcome measures by week 2 of therapy , and continued with further decrements in symptoms throughout the course of the study . CONCLUSIONS The results of this trial provide preliminary evidence that aripiprazole may be an effective adjunctive treatment in individuals on SSRIs with residual symptoms of anxiety or depression . More rigorous double-blind studies are warranted to confirm and eluci date the potential role of aripiprazole in these conditions
Monotherapy with quetiapine seems to be efficacious in reducing symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder and this effect may be similar to that of antidepressants .
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders are common and disabling conditions , with a lifetime prevalence of 17 % in the general population .
Due to high rates of treatment resistance , there is interest in new pharmacological treatment options such as second-generation antipsychotics .
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of second-generation antipsychotics as monotherapy or adjunctive treatment for people with anxiety disorders .