Azapirones may be less effective than benzodiazepines and we were unable to conclude if azapirones were superior to antidepressants , kava kava or psychotherapy .
Azapirones appeared to be well tolerated .
Azapirones appeared to be useful in the treatment of GAD , particularly for those participants who had not been on a benzodiazepine .
Azapirones may not be superior to benzodiazepines and do not appear as acceptable as benzodiazepines .
Side effects appeared mild and non serious in the azapirone treated group .
Longer term studies are needed to show that azapirones are effective in treating GAD , which is a chronic long-term illness
BACKGROUND Azapirones are a group of drugs that work at the 5-HT1A receptor and are used to treat patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder ( GAD ) .
However , several studies have shown conflicting results .
Whether azapirones are useful as first line treatment in general anxiety disorders still needs to be answered .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and the acceptability of azapirones for the treatment of GAD .
A multicentre double-blind comparison of hydroxyzine, buspirone and placebo in patients with generalized anxiety disorder
Abstract The efficacy of hydroxyzine and buspirone , controlled by placebo , was investigated in a double-blind , parallel group , multicentre study conducted in France and the UK . A total of 244 patients with generalised anxiety disorder in primary care was allocated r and omly to treatments with hydroxyzine ( 12.5 mg morning and mid-day , 25 mg evening ) , buspirone ( 5 mg morning and mid-day , 10 mg evening ) or placebo ( three capsules/day ) for 4 weeks , preceded by a 1-week single-blind placebo run-in and followed by 1-week single-blind placebo administration . Rating scales were applied on days -7,0,7,14,12,28 and 35 . Seventy percent of the patients were female ; the average age was 41 ± 11 years , and the mean Hamilton Anxiety Score at day 0 was 26.5 ± 4.2 . Only 31 of the 244 patients dropped out , but equally in the three groups . Intention-to-treat LOCF analyses on the primary variable showed a significant difference only between hydroxyzine and placebo with respect to improvement on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale ( 10.75 versus 7.23 points , respectively ) . Secondary variables such as CGI and self-ratings ( HAD scale ) showed both hydroxyzine and buspirone to be more efficacious than placebo . Thus , hydroxyzine is a useful treatment for GAD
Azapirones may be less effective than benzodiazepines and we were unable to conclude if azapirones were superior to antidepressants , kava kava or psychotherapy .
Azapirones appeared to be well tolerated .
Azapirones appeared to be useful in the treatment of GAD , particularly for those participants who had not been on a benzodiazepine .
Azapirones may not be superior to benzodiazepines and do not appear as acceptable as benzodiazepines .
Side effects appeared mild and non serious in the azapirone treated group .
Longer term studies are needed to show that azapirones are effective in treating GAD , which is a chronic long-term illness
BACKGROUND Azapirones are a group of drugs that work at the 5-HT1A receptor and are used to treat patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder ( GAD ) .
However , several studies have shown conflicting results .
Whether azapirones are useful as first line treatment in general anxiety disorders still needs to be answered .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and the acceptability of azapirones for the treatment of GAD .