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 extended-release venlafaxine in nondepressed outpatients with generalized anxiety disorder.
OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of fixed doses of once-daily extended-release ( XR ) venlafaxine in out patients with generalized anxiety disorder without concomitant major depressive disorder . METHOD Adult out patients with generalized anxiety disorder but not major depressive disorder with total scores of 18 or higher on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety and scores of 2 or higher on its anxious mood and tension factors were eligible . Patients were r and omly assigned to receive placebo or venlafaxine XR ( 75 , 150 , or 225 mg/day ) for 8 weeks . Primary efficacy variables were final total and psychic anxiety factor scores on the Hamilton anxiety scale and final severity and global improvement item scores on the Clinical Global Impression ( CGI ) scale . RESULTS Of the 377 patients entering the study , 370 were included in a safety analysis and 349 in an efficacy analysis .  Adjusted mean scores at 8 weeks ( last-observation-carried-forward analysis ) were significantly lower for one or more of the venlafaxine XR groups in four of four primary and three of four secondary outcome measures than for the placebo group . These included a change of 1.7 ( versus 1.3 ) from baseline on CGI severity item scores and a final score of 2.2 ( versus 2.6 ) on the CGI global improvement item . All doses of venlafaxine XR were well tolerated . CONCLUSIONS Venlafaxine XR is an effective and well-tolerated option for the short-term treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in out patients without major depressive disorder
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 .