Toward a personalized therapy for panic disorder: preliminary considerations from a work in progress.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Pharmacology
• Personalized Medicine

Background:

• Current panic disorder (PD) treatments lack individual tailoring, necessitating a personalized approach.
• Clinicians' current personalized strategies may be influenced by bias rather than solely scientific evidence.
• A structured, evidence-based personalized medicine framework is required for optimal PD treatment selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a preliminary, evidence-based framework for personalized therapy in panic disorder.
• To identify key phenomenological profiles that can inform tailored treatment decisions.
• To explore the implications of specific symptom clusters for medication and somatic interventions.

Main Methods:

• Narrative review of meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and experimental studies.
• Focus on phenomenological profiles including symptoms during/outside panic attacks and physiological functions.
• Consideration of respiratory, cardiac, vestibular, and derealization/depersonalization profiles.

Main Results:

• Identified specific patient profiles (e.g., respiratory, cardiac) with implications for treatment selection.
• Highlighted the need to integrate scientific evidence with clinical decision-making for personalized PD therapy.
• Acknowledged limitations and the preliminary nature of the proposed framework.

Conclusions:

• An evidence-based personalized therapy for panic disorder is a crucial next step.
• Further research incorporating technological advancements is essential for robust personalized treatment.
• Collaboration and continued work are needed to establish widely accepted conclusions in personalized PD care.