Fading of therapeutic effects of alprazolam in agoraphobia. Case reports.

1. A decrease in therapeutic effects of alprazolam after an initial good response is described in three patients suffering from panic disorder with agoraphobia. 2. The possibility of fading of therapeutic effects of alprazolam (defined as a progressive decrease of therapeutic effects refractory to dosage increase, after non-immediate symptomatic improvement) in such cases is discussed. 3. Fading may not be apparent from large scale controlled studies with alprazolam, since its detection requires a prolonged time of observation and a specific design.