Psychopharmacol Bull
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Psychopharmacol Bull · Jan 2008
Review Comparative StudyA major change of prescribing pattern in absence of adequate evidence: benzodiazepines versus newer antidepressants in anxiety disorders.
We performed a systematic review of controlled trials on anxiety disorders treatment (generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder) published from 1980 to 2006, and identified trials comparing the efficacy of benzodiazepines (BZD) with that of antidepressants, in particular comparisons between BZD and newer antidepressants. Among 969 publications, 274 double-blind randomized controlled studies remained after using our exclusion criteria. These studies comprised altogether 439 comparisons. ⋯ Among these, 22 compared the efficacy of older antidepressants versus BZD, whereas only 1 concerned the comparison of a newer antidepressant versus BZD. It showed comparable efficacy between venlafaxine and diazepam in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Our study shows that the major change of prescribing pattern from BZD to newer antidepressants in anxiety disorders has occurred in absence of comparative data of high level of proof.
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Psychopharmacol Bull · Jan 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialThe efficacy and tolerability of once-daily extended release quetiapine fumarate in hospitalized patients with acute schizophrenia: a 6-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
This study aimed to demonstrate efficacy of once-daily extended release quetiapine fumarate (quetiapine XR) versus placebo in patients with acute schizophrenia. ⋯ Superior efficacy of quetiapine XR versus placebo in patients with schizophrenia was demonstrated for quetiapine XR 600 mg/day. The safety and tolerability profile of quetiapine XR was similar to that of quetiapine IR.