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Venlafaxine Extended Release (Effexor) Appears Safe and Effective in Treating Panic Disorder: Presented at ADAA
By Jerry Ingram
MIAMI, FL -- March 16, 2004 -- Venlafaxine extended-release (Effexor) may be an effective and safe treatment option for adults with panic disorder, researchers said here on March 13th at the Anxiety Disorders Association of America 24th Annual Conference.
"Effexor has been marketed for treatment of depression…because of its serotonin- and norepinephrine-reuptake inhibitory properties. Drugs like this have been shown to be useful in the treatment of panic disorder," said Michael Liebowitz, MD, New York Psychiatric Institute, and lead researcher of this study.
Added Dr. Liebowitz, "The medication has been approved for treating depression and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), but not yet for treating panic disorder."
To assess the efficacy and safety of venlafaxine XR in adults with panic disorder, Dr. Liebowitz and associates conducted a multicentre, double blind study that enrolled 343 adult outpatients diagnosed with panic disorder according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – Revision IV criteria. The participants were randomised to flexible-dose venlafaxine XR at 75 to 225 mg/day or placebo for 10 weeks.
The researchers used the percentage of panic-free patients as the primary outcome measure with Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) and Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) response as secondary efficacy measures.
There was a trend toward a greater percentage of panic-free patients in the group receiving venlafaxine XR (51%) compared to placebo (41%) (P = .056). Additionally, investigators observed a significant reduction in Panic and Anticipatory Anxiety Scale full-symptom panic attacks (P = .040) in the venlafaxine group when adjusted for baseline severity.
Mean change from baseline in PDSS total score was considerably greater in the venlafaxine XR group than in the placebo group (-8.90 and –7.36, respectively; P = .031). Significantly more venlafaxine XR-treated patients also achieved CGI-I response (71%) compared to placebo (59%).
"A variety of measures showed that the drug was effective compared to placebo in panic disorder; but it just missed full clinical significance on the primary-outcome measures, which were percentage of patients that achieved 0 panic attacks."
Dr. Liebowitz concluded that "The reduction in panic attacks as a whole and general global clinical improvement was significant."
[Study Title: Venlafaxine XR Versus Placebo in Adult Outpatients With Panic Disorder. Abstract 16]
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