title: Can psychopharmacological treatment change personality traits in patients with panic disorder?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects that a particular psychopharmacological treatment has on personality patterns in patients with panic disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-seven patients with panic disorder and 40 controls were included in the study. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory were used to assess Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, diagnoses and personality traits, respectively. Patients were treated with sertraline for 16 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant decrease in the score on 8 of the 10 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory scales. In addition, neurotic triad and psychasthenia personality scores were higher among panic disorder patients, even during the posttreatment asymptomatic phase, than among controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the asymptomatic phase of the disease, panic disorder patients present a particular neurotic/anxious personality pattern. This pattern, although altered in the presence of acute symptoms, could be a focus of research.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences: Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Letícia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kipper
authors.forename: Cláudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wachleski
authors.forename: Giovanni Abrahão
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Salum
authors.forename: Elizeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heldt
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blaya
authors.forename: Gisele Gus
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Manfro
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality / Q000187:drug effects*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011600:Psychopharmacology; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020280:Sertraline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline