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Title: Venlafaxine and Paroxetine Provide Comparable Quality of Life Improvements in Panic Disorder, but High-Dose Venlafaxine May Provide Slight Advantage: Presented at ADAA

"Venlafaxine and Paroxetine Provide Comparable Quality of Life Improvements in Panic Disorder, but High-Dose Venlafaxine May Provide Slight Advantage: Presented at ADAA"

By Bonnie Darves SEATTLE, WA -- March 21, 2005 -- Patients with panic disorder who take either venlafaxine or paroxetine appear to gain significant improvement in quality of life and overall functioning, but venlafaxine in lower doses does not appear to provide as much benefit as a higher dose of the drug. According to a new study presented here on March 19[^th at the Anxiety Disorders Association of America 25^th Annual Conference, the drugs are similarly efficacious in boosting most quality of life (QOL) domains, said lead author Rezaul Khandker, PhD, director of health outcomes, Wyeth, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, United States.

"There was virtually no difference between the drugs in quality of life and functional ability, but we did not see much improvement in the school performance and course work domain for either drug," he said. The short treatment duration, 12 weeks, may have "made it difficult for patients to detect improvements in that domain," Dr. Khandker added.

The randomized, double-blind, fixed-dose study included 621 patients with diagnosed panic disorder who received either 75 or 225 mg of venlafaxine, 40 mg of paroxetine or placebo for up to 12 weeks.

Baseline scores on the Quality of Life, Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) were comparable across all domains for the active-treatment and placebo groups (2.5 and 3.5). This -- relatively new -- rating scale includes 10 subscales that measure such domains as subjective feelings of well-being, leisure time, social relationships and satisfaction with medication. Patient-reported functioning was assessed using the Sheehan Disability Scale.

At the study's completion, scores in the Q-LES-Q domains of physical health and activities, overall life satisfaction, and subjective feelings of well-being improved by 1.25 points or more in all treatment groups, but showed negligible improvement in the placebo patients.

Dr. Khandker noted that the improvements in most domains were less visible in the 75-mg venlafaxine group than in the other two active treatment arms. In the satisfaction with medication domain, for example, patients on the 225 mg venlafaxine dose registered a 1.7-point change versus 1.7 on the 75 mg dose.

[Presentation title: Patient-reported QOL and Functionality in Panic Disorder: Venlafaxine, Paroxetine and Placebo. Poster 155]

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