HPA axis disturbance and treatment outcome in panic disorder.

Some patients with panic disorder exhibit an abnormal response to dexamethasone. As this phenomenon may reflect disturbances in the central noradrenergic system and as alprazolam may work through this system to produce improvement, we predicted a particularly robust response among nonsuppressors. Fifty-two patients with panic disorder or with agoraphobia with panic attacks were given alprazolam as the sole treatment during either of 2, 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. Though baseline clinical severity predicted globally rated outcome, baseline Dexamethasone Suppression Test results did not.