When alprazolam was compared with placebo for reduction in symptoms all estimates indicated a positive effect for alprazolam .
The RD of all-cause withdrawals did not differ between alprazolam and placebo .
Alprazolam appears to reduce depressive symptoms more effectively than placebo and as effectively as tricyclic antidepressants .
Whilst the rate of all-cause withdrawals did not appear to differ between alprazolam and placebo , and withdrawals were less frequent in the alprazolam group than in any of the conventional antidepressants combined group , these findings should be interpreted with caution , given the dependency properties of benzodiazepines
BACKGROUND The ' off-label ' effect of alprazolam on depression has not been systematic ally evaluated .
OBJECTIVES To determine the antidepressant effect , including tolerability and acceptability , of alprazolam as monotherapy for major depression , when compared to placebo and conventional antidepressants in out patients and patients in primary care .
A double-blind comparative study of alprazolam and dothiepin hydrochloride in the treatment of anxiety associated with depression.
One hundred patients with mixed symptoms of anxiety and depression were enrolled into a prospect i ve , multi-centre , r and omized , double-blind study comparing the response to , and the side-effects of , alprazolam and dothiepin hydrochloride over 4 weeks of treatment . Mean daily doses were 2.33 mg alprazolam and 115 mg dothiepin . Data on 96 patients were evaluated for tolerance , and data for 85 patients were analyzed for therapeutic response . In each case , the groups were similar in numbers , mean ages and sex ratios . Both groups experienced satisfactory responses to therapy , with highly statistically significant changes ( p less than 0.001 ) in the means of all efficacy measures within each group . No statistical difference was demonstrated in favour of either treatment group . Both dothiepin and alprazolam exhibited a similar profile of mild minor side-effects , but more patients suffered moderate to severe reactions to dothiepin , leading to a greater drop-out rate in the dothiepin-treated group . It is concluded that , as both treatments produced equally satisfactory responses in this study , alprazolam should be considered for the treatment of  anxiety associated with depression in patients for whom tricyclic antidepressant drugs are either contra-indicated or poorly tolerated
When alprazolam was compared with placebo for reduction in symptoms all estimates indicated a positive effect for alprazolam .
The RD of all-cause withdrawals did not differ between alprazolam and placebo .
Alprazolam appears to reduce depressive symptoms more effectively than placebo and as effectively as tricyclic antidepressants .
Whilst the rate of all-cause withdrawals did not appear to differ between alprazolam and placebo , and withdrawals were less frequent in the alprazolam group than in any of the conventional antidepressants combined group , these findings should be interpreted with caution , given the dependency properties of benzodiazepines
BACKGROUND The ' off-label ' effect of alprazolam on depression has not been systematic ally evaluated .
OBJECTIVES To determine the antidepressant effect , including tolerability and acceptability , of alprazolam as monotherapy for major depression , when compared to placebo and conventional antidepressants in out patients and patients in primary care .