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Current concepts in clinical therapeutics: anxiety disorders, Part 1
1Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298.
Clinical Pharmacy
|February 1, 1987
Summary
Anxiety disorders are common and require careful diagnosis to distinguish from medical conditions. Treatment involves non-drug and drug therapies, with benzodiazepines and buspirone offering different benefits and drawbacks.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Anxiety disorders are prevalent mental health conditions requiring differentiation from medical causes.
- Accurate diagnosis necessitates comprehensive physical, mental, and historical assessments.
- Epidemiological data suggests a 4-8% incidence in the United States.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the diagnosis, epidemiology, classification, pathophysiology, and treatment of anxiety disorders.
- To highlight the importance of accurate diagnosis for effective patient management.
- To compare pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment modalities.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on anxiety disorders.
- Classification of anxiety disorders into four categories: phobic, anxiety states, posttraumatic stress, and atypical.
- Exploration of psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive, and biological theories of pathophysiology.
Main Results:
- Anxiety disorders encompass phobic disorders, anxiety states, posttraumatic stress disorders, and atypical anxiety disorders.
- Biological theories focusing on norepinephrine and benzodiazepine receptors are of significant interest.
- Pharmacologic treatments include benzodiazepines (widely used but with limitations) and buspirone (a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic with potential advantages).
- Non-pharmacologic therapies are crucial for phobic disorders.
Conclusions:
- Advances in diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders have been significant.
- Accurate diagnosis is paramount for optimal management of anxiety disorders.
- Barriers to treatment, including patient reluctance and inappropriate care, persist.