dihydroergotoxine and Anxiety-Disorders

Standardized means can be generated from the t, F or chi 2 statistic used to test the significance of treatment effects in each of several independent studies. An unweighted means ANOVA, calculated from the standardized means, provides tests of significance for the treatment main effect across studies and for the differences in magnitudes of the treatment effects between studies. The protection against Type I errors (false positive conclusions) afforded by the standardized means ANOVA is evaluated in a series of Monte Carlo simulations involving both equal and unequal sample sizes and error variances. A detailed illustration of the method is provided. The combining of information from multiple independent trials in clinical psychopharmacology research is illustrated with regard to problems of establishing the general equivalence of two drugs, as well as in providing a comprehensive conclusion concerning efficacy across several studies that may not appear uniformly positive.

Topics: Antipsychotic Agents; Anxiety Disorders; Arousal; Clinical Trials as Topic; Diazepam; Dihydroergotoxine; Double-Blind Method; Drug Therapy, Combination; Humans; Mental Disorders; Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychotropic Drugs; Schizophrenia; Statistics as Topic; Thioridazine

Topics: Age Factors; Aged; Anxiety Disorders; Attitude; Brain; Clinical Trials as Topic; Dementia; Dihydroergotoxine; Ergoloid Mesylates; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Female; Humans; Life Style; Male; Memory Disorders; Mental Disorders; Middle Aged; Papaverine; Placebos; Time Factors

A total of 800 physicians practising general medicine, internal medicine and neurology tested the dihydroergotoxin preparation Orphol Drops for a period of six weeks at a daily dose of 30 drops 3 times daily in 8940 patients with cerebrovascular insufficiency. The "cerebral symptom" complex showed the best results with improved findings in 94.5% of cases. The overall assessment of therapy by the doctors in the "psychological findings" complex showed improved findings in 85.7% of the patients affected after 6 weeks' treatment. The third complex, "harmonization of environmental relations" still showed improved findings in 71.6% of the affected patients. The sustained improvements in all three "complexes" were striking, also in the second period of the trial, which emphasizes the importance of longterm therapy of deficiency symptoms in cerebrovascular insufficiency.

Topics: Aged; Anxiety Disorders; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Cognition Disorders; Depression; Dihydroergotoxine; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Tolerance; Headache; Humans; Hypoxia; Memory; Vertigo