Conditions: Panic Disorder
Keywords: Panic disorder Exercise Alprazolam Aerobic
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 150
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to determine whether the combination of aerobic physical exercise and alprazolam in patients with panic disorder has a better therapeutic response than the treatment with alprazolam alone.

Detailed description:
We have observed in our clinical practice that patients who practiced aerobic physical exercise had faster remissions and better improvement in their treatments that those who did not. There are also some scientific studies that included physical exercise in the treatment for panic disorder and compared them to other single pharmacological treatments.

So our objective will be to compare the efficacy of a pharmacological monotherapy (alprazolam), that is one of the options for the pharmacological treatment of panic disorder, with other treatment such as the combination of aerobic physical exercise and alprazolam, and to determine if this combination results in a better therapeutic response.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients assigned to the pharmacological plan arm 2: Patients assigned to mix plan

Interventions: intervention 1: Alprazolam intervention 2: Alprazolam + Aerobic exercise
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: The patients assigned to the pharmacological plan will receive 4 mg alprazolam daily for 12 weeks. Two weeks after the first interview they have their first baseline psychiatric control, where all the patients are tested.

Then, at the same visit, all the patients are indicated 4 mg of alprazolam. The dose is gradually increased from 1 to 4 mg along the first week of treatment. The test is repeated during weeks 2, 4, 8 and 12. intervention 2: The patients assigned to exercise have to pass an ergometric test to determine their functional capacity expressed in METs for future exercise indication.

Two weeks after the first interview they have their first baseline psychiatric control and at the same time they are indicated a 4 mg dose of alprazolam, gradually increased from 1 to 4 mg along the first week of treatment. The test is repeated during weeks 2, 4, 8 and 12.

Then they follow a protocolized aerobic exercise plan for this study during 12 weeks.

The type of selected exercise consists of a rapid walk for 30 minutes divided in stages.

After each stage the patient has to control his own heart frequency that has to be between 50 and 75% of their maximum to assure an aerobic condition (American Cardiological Association).

Protocol document: