Issues in the pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders.
OBJECTIVE
To review the most salient issues in the pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders. These pertain to means of achieving greater efficacy, accelerating the onset of therapeutic action, improving side-effect profile and tolerability, decreasing the propensity to induce therapeutic dependence and achieving better long-term outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
By and large, pharmacological agents with greater efficacy in anxiety disorders have yet to be developed. Several strategies have been used with some success to make medications for anxiety disorders work faster and to lessen their side-effect burden. The field of psychopharmacology has yet to find ways of lessening or eliminating the problem of therapeutic drug dependence and, even more so, of minimizing the risk of relapse following the cessation of medication.
Starcevic
Vladan
V
Discipline of Psychological Medicine, University of Sydney, and Nepean Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia. starcev@wahs.nsw.gov.au
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000379:methods; D012008:Recurrence
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents