Clonazepam May Reduce Risk of Relapse in Patients With Panic Disorder

While most patients with panic disorder respond to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, benzodiazepines, and/or a combination of the two, the risk of relapse after drug discontinuation is known to be high. Astudy in theJournal of Clinical Psychopharmacology now suggests that patients who take clonazepam may be at a lower risk of relapse than those treated with paroxetine.The findings were based on an observational, prospective, six-year follow-up study of patients with panic disorder who participated in anopen, randomized trial in which they were assigned to take either clonazepam (0.5 mg/d to 2 mg/d) or paroxetine (10 mg/d to 40 mg/d) for eight weeks. Patients who responded to the assigned monotherapy after eight weeks continued this treatment for 34 months; partial or nonresponders were offered a combined treatment with clonazepam and paroxetine. After 34 months in the long-term study, clonazepam and paroxetine were tapered (four months for clonazepam taper, and six weeks for paroxetine taper).Of the 95 patients who completed the three-year study, 10 failed to achieve remission. The researchers conducted follow-up assessments with the 85 patients who achieved remission at years 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 following the discontinuation of clonazepam, paroxetine, or a combination of the two. These assessments evaluated the number of panic attacks the patients experienced per month, Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scores, and the 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Rating...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: anxiety disorders benzodiazepines clonazepam Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology panic disorder paroxetine Rafael C. Freire SSRIs taper treatment discontinuation Source Type: research