Anxiety levels and related pharmacological drug treatment: a memorandum for the third millennium.
Anxiety disorders frequently affect the general population and have a lifetime prevalence ranging from 13.6% to 28.8%. This paper reviews full articles dealing with the pharmacological treatments of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This review also attempts to evaluate the use of new drugs acting on several neurotransmitters involved in the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders. Major advances include the development of glutamatergic drugs for treating GAD and OCD. Further randomized controlled trials to test the effect of glutamatergic agents in the treatment of OCD and GAD would be warranted.
Pasquini
Massimo
M
Dipartimento di Scienze Psichiatriche e Medicina Psicologica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy. massimo.pasquini@uniroma1.it
Berardelli
Isabella
I
D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D011600:Psychopharmacology / Q000639:trends*
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents