pregabalin and Phobic-Disorders

Anxiety disorders belong to the most frequent psychiatric disorders according to epidemiological studies and are associated with a high economic burden. Panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia belong to the most important clinical disorders. The etiology is complex, including genetic, neurobiological as well as psychosocial factors. With regard to treatment, both psychotherapy and medication can be employed according to current treatment guidelines. With regard to psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) represents the treatment of choice. As for pharmacological treatment, in particular modern antidepressants and pregabalin are recommended. However, several recommendations have to be considered in daily clinical practice.

Topics: Anti-Anxiety Agents; Antidepressive Agents; Anxiety Disorders; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Combined Modality Therapy; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Panic Disorder; Phobia, Social; Phobic Disorders; Pregabalin

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, causing a reduction of in the quality of life by impairing functioning in social situations. The lifetime prevalence of SAD is estimated to be 12%. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are considered first-line drugs for SAD. However, new effective therapeutic options are still needed. Pregabalin is a novel anxiolytic, which seems to be a promising therapy for SAD.. This review presents the results of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the efficacy and safety of pregabalin with placebo in patients with generalized SAD. The authors also discuss the long-term safety and tolerability data from an extension study.. The results of the RCTs have demonstrated efficacy and safety with pregabalin at doses of 600 mg or 450 mg/d for treating generalized SAD. Thus, pregabalin may be an effective therapeutic option, especially for patients who cannot tolerate the adverse effects or who demonstrate a lack of efficacy with SSRIs or SNRIs. In addition to being an alternative therapy to SSRIs or SNRIs, it may also have value as an add-on therapy, either to augment pharmacotherapy or in addition to cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Topics: Anti-Anxiety Agents; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Humans; Phobic Disorders; Pregabalin; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pregabalin in preventing relapse in generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD). Patients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) generalized SAD, who met responder criteria after 10 weeks of open-label treatment with fixed-dose pregabalin (450 mg/day; n=153), were randomly assigned to 26 weeks of double-blind treatment with pregabalin (450 mg/day) or placebo. The primary a-priori outcome of time to relapse was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Double-blind treatment with pregabalin was associated with significant delay in time to relapse versus placebo (P=0.035), and with significantly greater maintenance of symptomatic improvement over 26 weeks on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale total (P=0.012) and subscale scores and on the Marks Fear Questionnaire total phobia (P=0.010) and social phobia (P=0.014) subscales. Pregabalin was generally well tolerated. During the double-blind phase, the adverse events that occurred more frequently with pregabalin compared with placebo were dizziness (11.3 vs. 4.1%) and infection (21.3 vs. 16.4%). The results of this study suggest that pregabalin (450 mg/day) is safe, well tolerated, and has significant relapse-prevention efficacy over 26 weeks in patients with SAD who responded to an initial course of the pregabalin treatment.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Double-Blind Method; Female; Follow-Up Studies; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Phobic Disorders; Pregabalin; Secondary Prevention; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult

Topics: Adult; Alprazolam; Anticonvulsants; Anxiety Disorders; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Humans; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Male; Phobic Disorders; Pregabalin; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome

Both benzodiazepines and conventional anticonvulsants have been evaluated as treatments for social phobia (social anxiety disorder). Among the benzodiazepines, clonazepam is the best studied, although there is reason to expect that all benzodiazepine anxiolytics would be effective for this condition. Among the anticonvulsants, gabapentin and pregabalin, an analogue of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), have been shown to be more effective than placebo in double-blind studies. Other than a small negative open study of valproic acid for social phobia, there is a paucity of information on whether other anticonvulsants might be useful for this condition.

Topics: Acetates; Alprazolam; Amines; Anticonvulsants; Benzodiazepines; Clinical Trials as Topic; Clonazepam; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; Follow-Up Studies; Gabapentin; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Humans; Phobic Disorders; Placebos; Pregabalin; Treatment Outcome; Valproic Acid