Dropout rates did not differ between antidepressants .
The latter study showed very promising results of  sertraline  in children and adolescents with GAD , which warrants its replication in larger sample s. REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS The available evidence suggests that antidepressants are superior to placebo in treating GAD .
There is also evidence from placebo-controlled trials suggesting that these drugs are well tolerated by GAD patients .
Further trials of antidepressants for GAD will help to demonstrate which antidepressants should be used for which patients
BACKGROUND Pharmacological treatments have been successfully used to treat  Generalized Anxiety Disorder ( GAD ) .
The mainstay for the pharmacological treatment of GAD in past decades has been the use of benzodiazepine and non benzodiazepine anxiolytics .
Data emerging over the last two decades have shown that antidepressants may be equally effective to anxiolytics for treating GAD .
The use of antidepressants for treating GAD may be advantageous , due to the fact that GAD presents a high co morbidity ratio with major depressive disorder ( 62 % ) and dysthymia ( 37 % ) .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and acceptability of antidepressants for treating generalized anxiety disorder .
Placebo-controlled trial of sertraline in the treatment of children with generalized anxiety disorder.
OBJECTIVE The study compared the safety and efficacy of sertraline , a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor , and placebo in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in children and adolescents . METHOD The study subjects were 22 children and adolescents age 5 - 17 years who met the DSM-IV criteria for generalized anxiety disorder according to the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children-Revised and who had a Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale score > or = 16 . The patients underwent a 2 - 3-week pre study evaluation period , followed by a 9-week double-blind treatment phase in which they were r and omly assigned in blocks of four to receive either sertraline or pill placebo . The maximum dose of sertraline was 50 mg/day . Primary outcome measures were the Hamilton anxiety scale and the Clinical Global Impression scale . RESULTS The Hamilton anxiety scale total score , psychic factor , and somatic factor and the Clinical Global Impression severity and improvement scales showed significant differences with treatment in favor of sertraline over placebo beginning at week 4 . Self-report measures reflected these results at the end of treatment . CONCLUSIONS The results of this double-blind , placebo-controlled trial suggest that sertraline at the daily dose of 50 mg is safe and efficacious for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in children and adolescents
Dropout rates did not differ between antidepressants .
The latter study showed very promising results of  sertraline  in children and adolescents with GAD , which warrants its replication in larger sample s. REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS The available evidence suggests that antidepressants are superior to placebo in treating GAD .
There is also evidence from placebo-controlled trials suggesting that these drugs are well tolerated by GAD patients .
Further trials of antidepressants for GAD will help to demonstrate which antidepressants should be used for which patients
BACKGROUND Pharmacological treatments have been successfully used to treat  Generalized Anxiety Disorder ( GAD ) .
The mainstay for the pharmacological treatment of GAD in past decades has been the use of benzodiazepine and non benzodiazepine anxiolytics .
Data emerging over the last two decades have shown that antidepressants may be equally effective to anxiolytics for treating GAD .
The use of antidepressants for treating GAD may be advantageous , due to the fact that GAD presents a high co morbidity ratio with major depressive disorder ( 62 % ) and dysthymia ( 37 % ) .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and acceptability of antidepressants for treating generalized anxiety disorder .