Placebo response in the treatment of panic disorder

A review of key placebo-controlled studies of benzodiazepines and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) over the past decade challenges the widespread view that placebo response rates resulting from clinical trials of pharmacotherapy for panic disorder are excessively high. Statistically and clinically significant drug-placebo differences have been demonstrated in large-scale trials. Further research is needed on the impact of pharmacological treatments on the medium- and long-term course of the disorder.