Some biological aspects of panic disorder.

A review is made of the aetiology of panic disorders and of their relationship with agoraphobia. The paper confines itself to the review of evidence of the lactate induction of panic attacks and the response of panic disorder and agoraphobia to some antidepressants. It does not deal with genetic evidence or the dexamethasone suppression test. It is concluded that biological disturbance is probably a major causal factor of panic disorder, producing a physiological response but associated with some other factor.