Our review confirms the usefulness of long-term pharmacological treatments for PD and GAD and suggests that they can provide further improvement over that obtained during short-term therapy .
Paroxetine , escitalopram , and clonazepam can be effective for long-term treatment of PD .
Pregabalin and quetiapine can be effective for long-term treatment of GAD , while preliminary suggestions emerged for agomelatine and vortioxetine .
We did not find any evidence for determining the optimal length and /or dosage of medications to minimize the relapse risk .
Many aspects of long-term pharmacological treatments for  anxiety disorders ( AnxDs ) are still debated .
We undertook an up date d systematic review of long-term pharmacological studies on panic disorder ( PD ) , generalized anxiety disorder ( GAD ) , and social anxiety disorder ( SAD ) .
Effects of extended-release quetiapine fumarate on long-term functioning and sleep quality in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): data from a randomized-withdrawal, placebo-controlled maintenance study.
BACKGROUND This analysis evaluated effects of quetiapine XR maintenance treatment on functioning and sleep in patients with GAD . METHODS Analysis of patient-reported data from a r and omized-withdrawal , double-blind , placebo-controlled study of quetiapine XR monotherapy in GAD . Following open-label run-in ( 4 - 8 weeks ) and a 12 - 18-week stabilization phase ( quetiapine XR 50 , 150 , or 300 mg/day ) , eligible patients were r and omized to continue on quetiapine XR or receive placebo for up to 52 weeks . Primary variable was time to an anxiety event . Secondary variables included the Sheehan Disability Scale ( SDS ) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index ( PSQI ) . RESULTS In total , 432 patients were r and omized ( quetiapine XR , N=216 ; placebo , N=216 ) . The risk of an anxiety event was significantly reduced for quetiapine XR vs. placebo ( HR 0.19 ; 95 % CI 0.12 , 0.31 ; p<0.001 ) . Quetiapine XR was more effective than placebo at maintaining SDS total scores ( LSM change : -0.19 vs. 1.01 ; p=0.017 ) and non-work-related SDS domain score ' family life/home responsibilities ' ( -0.13 vs. 0.32 ; p=0.011 ) , but not ' social life ' ( 0.05 vs. 0.34 ; p=0.114 ) . Quetiapine XR was more effective than placebo at maintaining the work-related SDS domain score ' days lost ' ( -0.05 vs. 0.11 ; p=0.027 ) , but not ' work/school ' ( -0.10 vs. 0.29 ; p=0.051 ) or ' days underproductive ' ( 0.06 vs. 0.13 ; p=0.619 ) . PSQI global scores were reduced from r and omization with quetiapine XR vs. placebo ( 0.39 vs. 1.60 ; p<0.001 ) . LIMITATIONS Lack of active-comparator arm , exclusion of patients with comorbid depression . CONCLUSIONS In patients with GAD , long-term treatment with quetiapine XR ( 50 - 300 mg/day ) monotherapy was effective at maintaining improvements in functioning and sleep quality
Our review confirms the usefulness of long-term pharmacological treatments for PD and GAD and suggests that they can provide further improvement over that obtained during short-term therapy .
Paroxetine , escitalopram , and clonazepam can be effective for long-term treatment of PD .
Pregabalin and quetiapine can be effective for long-term treatment of GAD , while preliminary suggestions emerged for agomelatine and vortioxetine .
We did not find any evidence for determining the optimal length and /or dosage of medications to minimize the relapse risk .
Many aspects of long-term pharmacological treatments for  anxiety disorders ( AnxDs ) are still debated .
We undertook an up date d systematic review of long-term pharmacological studies on panic disorder ( PD ) , generalized anxiety disorder ( GAD ) , and social anxiety disorder ( SAD ) .