Adinazolam-SR in panic disorder with agoraphobia: relationship of daily dose to efficacy.

BACKGROUND

We report the results from a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, fixed-dose study designed to evaluate the relationship between daily dose and efficacy of adinazolam-SR in patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia.

METHOD: Patients (N = 315) were randomized to one of four treatment groups (placebo, N = 83; 30-mg group, N = 79; 60-mg group, N = 81; and 90-mg group, N = 72) and then treated twice daily for 4 weeks. All treatment groups were comparable demographically. Primary efficacy measures included total number of panic attacks, global improvement score using the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale, phobic anxiety dimension of the Symptom Checklist-90 phobic cluster, overall phobia state using the Phobia Scale, and severity of illness on the CGI.

RESULTS

The 60- and 90-mg/day adinazolam-SR treatment groups showed superior results when compared with the placebo group at Week 4 while the 30-mg group did not. Treatment with adinazolam-SR was well tolerated, with sedation the only treatment-emergent symptom that occurred more frequently in patients treated with adinazolam-SR than placebo.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that adinazolam-SR at doses of 60-mg/day or greater administered twice daily is a safe and effective treatment in selected patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia.