title: Mirtazapine treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: a fixed dose, open label study.
abstract: We investigated the efficacy of mirtazapine in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Forty-four adult outpatients with GAD were treated openly with a fixed dose of mirtazapine (30 mg) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the change from baseline in total score on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A). The Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) was rated at the endpoint. Patients with a reduction of 50% or more on the HAM-A total score and a CGI-I score of 1 or 2 at endpoint were considered responders to treatment; remission was defined as a HAM-A score <or=7. At 12 weeks, response was achieved by 79.5% of the patients (n=35) and remission by 36.4% of patients (n=16). This study supports the notion that mirtazapine is an efficacious and well tolerated treatment for GAD. Limitations of the present study must be considered and further placebo-controlled trials are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, University 'G. D'Annunzio' of Chieti, Chieti, Italy. fgambi@unich.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gambi
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Berardis
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Campanella
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carano
authors.forename: Gianna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sepede
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salini
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mezzano
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cicconetti
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Penna
authors.forename: Rosa Maria
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Salerno
authors.forename: Filippo Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ferro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects; D003248:Constipation / Q000139:chemically induced; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008803:Mianserin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000078785:Mirtazapine; D010045:Outpatients; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000139:chemically induced
chemical_list: D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D008803:Mianserin; D000078785:Mirtazapine