Behavioral and endocrine responses to clomipramine in panic disorder patients with or without alcoholism

Central nervous system serotonin functions may differ between certain subgroups of alcoholics, patients with panic disorder, and healthy volunteers. To investigate these possibilities we administered the serotonin uptake inhibitor, clomipramine (12.5 mg, i.v.), to patients with alcohol dependence, patients with panic disorder with or without alcohol dependence, and healthy volunteers. Alcoholics did not differ from healthy volunteers in their neuroendocrine or behavioral responses. In contrast, patients with panic disorder exhibited marked dysphoric reactions and/or panic attacks following low-dose i.v. clomipramine, whereas their neuroendocrine responses were similar to the other two groups. Patients with panic disorder may have super-sensitive postsynaptic serotonin receptors in areas of their central nervous system, which are important for mood regulation.