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 .
Quetiapine as monotherapy for social anxiety disorder: A placebo-controlled study
Social anxiety disorder ( SAD ) is one of the most common anxiety disorders . Reports have suggested an effect of the atypical antipsychotic quetiapine in anxiety disorders . Given these considerations , we conducted a controlled trial of quetiapine monotherapy in SAD . Fifteen patients were r and omized to quetiapine ( up to 400 mg/day ) or placebo for 8 weeks . The Brief Social Phobia Scale ( BSPS ) and the Clinical Global Impression of Improvement Scale ( CGI-I ) were the primary outcome measures , while the Social Phobia Inventory ( SPIN ) and the Sheehan Disability Inventory ( SDI ) were secondary measures . There was no significant difference on the BSPS score at endpoint between the quetiapine and placebo groups . There was a significant time effect but not a significant time x treatment group interaction , indicating that both the quetiapine and placebo patients did better over the course of the trial . 20 % of the quetiapine patients had a 50 % or greater drop in BSPS score at the end of the trial compared to baseline , while 0 % had such a drop in the placebo group . There was no significant difference in responders ( CGI-I score of 1 or 2 ) versus non-responder ( CGI-I score of 3 or more ) across the groups . However , 40 % of quetiapine patients and 0 % of the placebo patients showed much or very much improvement on the CGI-I. The Number Needed to Treat ( NNT ) to be a responder on the CGI-I was 3 . Significant time effects were noted for the SPIN and SDI , as well as a significant time x treatment effect in favor of quetiapine on the SPIN . Additionally , quetiapine showed a large effect size on the SPIN
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 .