title: Long-Term Pharmacological Treatments of Anxiety Disorders: An Updated Systematic Review.
abstract: Many aspects of long-term pharmacological treatments for anxiety disorders (AnxDs) are still debated. We undertook an updated systematic review of long-term pharmacological studies on panic disorder (PD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Relevant studies dating from January 1, 2012 to August 31, 2015 were identified using the PubMed database and a review of bibliographies. Of 372 records identified in the search, five studies on PD and 15 on GAD were included in the review. No studies on SAD were found. Our review confirms the usefulness of long-term pharmacological treatments for PD and GAD and suggests that they can provide further improvement over that obtained during short-term therapy. Paroxetine, escitalopram, and clonazepam can be effective for long-term treatment of PD. However, further studies are needed to draw conclusions about the long-term benzodiazepine use in PD, particularly for the possible cognitive side-effects over time. Pregabalin and quetiapine can be effective for long-term treatment of GAD, while preliminary suggestions emerged for agomelatine and vortioxetine. We did not find any evidence for determining the optimal length and/or dosage of medications to minimize the relapse risk. Few investigations have attempted to identify potential predictors of long-term treatment response. Personalized treatments for AnxDs can be implemented using predictive tools to explore those factors affecting treatment response/tolerability heterogeneity, including neurobiological functions/clinical profiles, comorbidity, biomarkers, and genetic features, and to tailor medications according to each patient's unique features.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, FoRiPsi, via Roma 16, 22032, Albese con Cassano, Como, Italy. pernagp@gmail.com.|Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, Netherlands. pernagp@gmail.com.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Leonard Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. pernagp@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giampaolo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perna
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, FoRiPsi, via Roma 16, 22032, Albese con Cassano, Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alciati
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, FoRiPsi, via Roma 16, 22032, Albese con Cassano, Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, FoRiPsi, via Roma 16, 22032, Albese con Cassano, Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Wilma
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Micieli
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, FoRiPsi, via Roma 16, 22032, Albese con Cassano, Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caldirola
mesh_terms: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents
keywords: Anxiety; Generalized anxiety disorder; Long term; Panic disorder; Pharmacological treatment; Social anxiety disorder
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