title: A fixed-dose study of alprazolam 2 mg, alprazolam 6 mg, and placebo in panic disorder.
abstract: A recently reported multinational, 8-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study assessing the efficacy of alprazolam versus placebo in the treatment of panic disorder indicated significant differences favoring alprazolam. We now report the results of a three-site, 6-week, double-blind, fixed-dose study comparing alprazolam 2 mg, alprazolam 6 mg, and placebo in 94 patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Both alprazolam treatment groups (6 mg and 2 mg) improved significantly more than did the placebo treatment group on most outcome measures. Only a few statistically significant differences between the 6 mg and 2 mg alprazolam groups were discerned, although the pattern of treatment response across measures suggested a dose effect. Dropouts in the placebo group were primarily due to lack of efficacy and in the alprazolam 6 mg group were due to side effects, which may have contributed to the limited differences between groups at study end. The findings suggest that many patients may require less than 6 mg of alprazolam per day for effective treatment of panic disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lydiard
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Lesser
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ballenger
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laraia
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: DuPont
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D000525:Alprazolam / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment
chemical_list: D000525:Alprazolam