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 .
Adjunctive risperidone in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: a double-blind, prospective, placebo-controlled, randomized trial.
BACKGROUND Residual symptoms despite treatment are common in generalized anxiety disorders ( GAD ) . The Patient-Rated Troubling Symptoms for Anxiety ( PaRTS-A ) is a newly created and vali date d instrument that measures the symptoms most troublesome to each individual patient and was used to test the hypothesis that adjunctive risperidone improves residual GAD symptoms . METHODS Primary care and psychiatry clinicians enrolled adults ( n = 417 ) with GAD and a Clinical Global Impressions of Severity rating ≥ 4 despite ≥ 8 weeks of anxiolytic treatment . Subjects were r and omized  to adjunctive risperidone or placebo . The primary endpoint was change from baseline to week 4 endpoint in PaRTS-A. RESULTS Improvement from baseline to week 4 endpoint in PaRTS-A total score ( mean + /-SE ) was similar between treatment groups ( -8.54 [ 0.63 ] and -7.61 [ 0.64 ] for adjunctive risperidone and placebo , respectively ; P = .265 ) . Patients in each treatment group exhibited significant improvements from baseline in nearly all patient- and clinician-rated measures . A post-hoc analysis of PaRTS-A symptoms of moderate to severe severity at baseline suggested greater improvement with risperidone than placebo ( P = .04 ) . Headache , weight increase , and increased appetite were the most frequently reported adverse events in both groups . CONCLUSIONS Residual GAD symptoms assessed by the PaRTS-A improved with either adjunctive risperidone or placebo . Alternative analyses or scoring approaches may improve the ability of the PaRTS-A to provide clinical ly meaningful information on patient-rated symptoms . Further exploration of the benefits of risperidone in patients with more severe GAD may be indicated
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 .