A Randomized, Naturalistic, Parallel-Group Study for the Long-Term Treatment of Panic Disorder With Clonazepam or Paroxetine

This long-term extension of an 8-week randomized, naturalistic study in patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia compared the efficacy and safety of clonazepam (n = 47) and paroxetine (n = 37) over a 3-year total treatment duration. Target doses for all patients were 2 mg/d clonazepam and 40 mg/d paroxetine (both taken at bedtime). This study reports data from the long-term period (34 months), following the initial 8-week treatment phase. Thus, total treatment duration was 36 months. Patients with a good primary outcome during acute treatment continued monotherapy with clonazepam or paroxetine, but patients with partial primary treatment success were switched to the combination therapy. At initiation of the long-term study, the mean doses of clonazepam and paroxetine were 1.9 (SD, 0.30) and 38.4 (SD, 3.74) mg/d, respectively. These doses were maintained until month 36 (clonazepam 1.9 [ SD, 0.29] mg/d and paroxetine 38.2 [SD, 3.87] mg/d). Long-term treatment with clonazepam led to a small but significantly better Clinical Global Impression (CGI)-Improvement rating than treatment with paroxetine (mean difference: CGI-Severity scale -3.48 vs -3.24, respectively, P = 0.02; CGI-Improvement scale 1.06 vs 1.11, respectively, P = 0.04). Both treatments similarly reduced the number of panic attacks and severity of anxiety. Patients treated with clonazepam had significantly fewer adverse events than those treated with paroxetine (28.9% vs 70.6%, P < 0.001). The efficacy of clonazepam and paroxetine for the treatment of panic disorder was maintained over the long-term course. There was a significant advantage with clonazepam over paroxetine with respect to the frequency and nature of adverse events.

Anxiety and joint hypermobility association: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are often associated with several non-psychiatric medical conditions. Among the clinical conditions found in association with anxiety stands out the joint hypermobility (JH). OBJECTIVES: To carry out a systematic review of the clinical association between anxiety disorders and JH. METHOD: A survey was conducted in MEDLINE, PsychINFO, LILACS e SciELO databases up to December 2011. We searched for articles using the keywords 'anxiety', 'joint' and 'hypermobility' and Boolean operators. The review included articles describing empirical studies on the association between JH and anxiety. The reference lists of selected articles were systematically hand-searched for other publications relevant to the review. RESULTS: Seventeen articles were included in the analysis and classified to better extract data. We found heterogeneity between the studies relate to the methodology used. Most of the studies found an association between anxiety features and JH. Panic disorder/agoraphobia was the anxiety disorder associated with JH in several studies. Etiological explanation of the relationship between anxiety and JH is still controversial. CONCLUSION: Future research in large samples from the community and clinical setting and longitudinal studies of the association between anxiety and HA and the underlying biological mechanisms involved in this association are welcome.

Ultrassom estático e terapia manual para tratamento da enxaqueca refratária. Relato de caso

JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: Limiares reduzidos de dor a pressão (LDP) e presença de pontos de gatilho musculares costumam ser observadas em pacientes com enxaqueca. A fisioterapia costuma ser útil para esses pacientes. O objetivo deste estudo foi demonstrar os benefícios do ultrassom estático no tratamento de pacientes com enxaqueca. RELATO DE CASO: Paciente do sexo feminino, 25 anos, com enxaqueca desde os 15 anos de idade. Foi enviada por especialista em cefaleia devido à refratariedade ao tratamento farmacológico. Tinha aproximadamente 8 crises incapacitantes por mês que duravam 2 a 3 dias. Foram examinados os músculos craniocervicais, medido o LDP e a amplitude de movimento cervical. Participou de 20 sessões, duas vezes por semana com duração de 40 a 50 minutos, de alongamento global e tração cervical, além de liberação miofascial e desativação dos pontos de gatilho musculares. Após a 6ª sessão introduziu-se o ultrassom estático ao protocolo. CONCLUSÃO: Houve redução significativa na frequência e duração dos ataques de enxaqueca, além de aumento do LDP. A fisioterapia com ultrassom estático pode ser útil para pacientes com enxaqueca refratária.