• José M Olivares, Enrique Álvarez, José L Carrasco, María Pérez Páramo, and Vanessa López-Gómez.
• aDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital Meixoeiro, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario, Vigo bDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital de la Santa Creu i San Pau, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona cDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid dMedical Department, Pfizer GEP SLU, Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain.
• Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2015 Sep 1; 30 (5): 265-71.

AbstractTo evaluate the effectiveness of pregabalin in patients with resistant generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and severe depressive symptoms, we carried out a post-hoc analysis of a multicenter, prospective, and observational 6-month study. We included patients who were at least 18 years old, fulfilled the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV) criteria for GAD, showed inadequate responses to previous courses of antidepressant treatment, had Montgomery-Asberg Rating Scale scores of at least 35, had not received pregabalin previously, and were prescribed pregabalin upon entry into this study. We included 1815 patients fulfilling the DSM-IV criteria for GAD, and 133 (7.3%) fulfilled the selection criteria for these analyses. Ninety-seven percent of the patients received pregabalin (mean dose: 222 mg/day) in combination with other psychotropics. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale total score was reduced by a mean of 20.3 points (95% confidence interval, 22.1-18.4) (57.2% reduction) at month 6. Pregabalin also ameliorated comorbid depressive symptoms, with a reduction in the mean score of the Montgomery-Asberg Rating Scale of 22.3 points (95% confidence interval, 24.2-20.4) (56.6% reduction). Our results suggest that pregabalin, as part of a combination regimen with antidepressants and/or benzodiazepines, might be effective for the treatment of patients with GAD who have shown inadequate response to previous antidepressants and have severe depressive symptoms.

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