Generalised Anxiety Disorder
Antidepressants Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Treatment Depression and Exercise or Antidepressants, Adult Antidepressant Anxiety Depression Treatment
Although antidepressants are now well-established treatments in several anxiety disorders, their role in the treatment of GAD remains less documented. Controlled trials by Hoehn-Saric et al. and Rickels et al. have provided evidence for the benefit of imipramine and trazodone in GAD. Imipramine was more effective than diazepam on psychic anxiety symptoms, with the benefit of an additional significant antidepressant effect. Trazodone was also found to be effective.
It remains a little used, but potentially useful drug for GAD. Its hypnotic properties may be welcome where insomnia is a major problem.
Rickels et al. found that both imipramine and trazodone resulted in acute efficacy in GAD within two to four weeks after the start of treatment.
These drugs were effective regardless of a history of depression or panic. The antidepressant nefazodone enjoys the advantage of greater patient acceptability and tolerability than trazodone.
Other antidepressants are being tested in GAD. There has been recent evidence in favour of the effectiveness of venlafaxine in GAD.