Medications For Anxiety Disorders Research Articles

Impacts of Anxiety and Depression on Clinical Hypertension in Low-Income US Adults.

Depression and anxiety are common leading causes of disability and are associated with systemic effects including cardiovascular comorbidities. Low-income populations may experience higher frequencies of depressive or anxiety-related symptoms, and be at greater risk for developing hypertension. We performed a cross-sectional study of low-income participants who completed hypertension and disability questionnaires as part of the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to identify associations between depressive/anxiety-related symptoms and hypertension status. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to identify whether (1) frequency of depressive symptoms, (2) frequency of anxiety-related symptoms, (3) self-reported depression medication use, or (4) self-reported anxiety medication use predicted previous hypertension diagnosis. A total of 74,285,160 individuals were represented in our cohort. Participants that reported taking depression (OR 2.72; 95% CI 1.41-5.24; P = 0.009) and anxiety (OR 2.50; 95% CI 1.42-4.41; P = 0.006) medications had greater odds of hypertension. Individuals with depressive feelings daily, monthly, and few times per year were more likely to have hypertension. Respondents with daily (OR 2.28; 95% CI 1.22-4.24; P = 0.021) and weekly (OR 1.88; 95% CI 1.05-3.38; P = 0.040) anxiety symptoms were more likely to have hypertension. Low-income adults in the United States with symptoms of anxiety or depression have higher likelihood of hypertension than those with no symptoms. Respondents who indicated taking medication for anxiety disorders or depression were more likely to have been diagnosed with hypertension.

A Case Report :Alprazolam Therapy in A Dextra Fronto-Parietal Meningioma Patient With Anxiety Disorders

Meningiomas in the frontoparietal lobe may cause anxiety disorders and panic attacks. While alprazolam is one of the most widely used medications for anxiety disorders, long-term use may result in adverse side effects (withdrawal and rebound effects). This case study aims to describe the efficacy of long-term alprazolam administration in patients with meningiomas for regulating anxiety disorders. Case report :The asymmetrical face is the primary concern of a 65-year-old female when she is anxious. The results of the physical assessment and laboratory tests are within normal ranges. However, The HARS procedure showed moderate anxiety, and the CT scan revealed a meningioma in the right frontoparietal lobe. To regulate patient anxiety disorders, doctors give alprazolam 0.5 mg per day single dose for 4 months and tapering off for 3 months. Conclusion: Long-term administration of alprazolam in these patients can reduce the patient's anxiety disorder without causing withdrawal or rebound effects. A low dosage of alprazolam, a mild level of anxiety illness, and a slow tapering off phase were factors that contributed to the effectiveness of alprazolam treatment to suppress anxiety symptoms in this situation.

Small Nettle: Evaluation of Its Anxiolytic Effect in the Elevated Plus-Maze and Open Field

Background: Anxiety is a serious disorder affecting the world population. The most widely prescribed medications for anxiety disorders are the Benzodiazepines; however, they have prominent side effects. Thus, interest in alternative medicine that affects the ‘mind’ is growing. Among medicinal plants, Urtica urens has been recommended for relief of anxiety in Morocco folk medicine. Methods: The anxiolytic activity was evaluated with the adult mice by the elevated plus maze (EPM) and Open Field (OF) models of anxiety. The efficacy of the plant extract (100-600 mg/kg) was compared with the standard anxiolytic drug diazepam (1 mg/kg i.p.) Results: In the EPM, aqueous extract at 400mg/kg showed an anxiolytic effect by increasing the time spent on open arms and the percentage of open arm entries compared to control group. In an open field test aqueous extract of U. urens (400 mg/kg) increased the central area crossing, the time spent and number of rearing in the center of arena. Conclusions: These results provides support for anxiolytic activity of Urtica urens, in line with its medicinal traditional use, and may also suggest a better side-effect profile of Urtica urens relative to diazepam.

2012 – Patients’ experiences of medication for anxiety disorders

Background to the study Anxiety disorders are abnormal states in which the most noticeable features are mental and physical symptoms of anxiety. They are of the most common psychiatric disorders in the general population with the lifetime prevalence approaching a 21%. The evidence based medicine lacks research on patients’ experience of medication for psychiatric disorders, especially of medication for anxiety disorders. This research involves patients referred to secondary care because of their anxiety symptoms and diagnosed as suffering with anxiety disorders. Aims To illuminate the subjective experiences of patients diagnosed with anxiety disorders and their experience of taking medication. Therefore qualitative methodology was appropriate. Participants All the potential participants in two Mental Health Trusts in the UK were informed about the research from their consultant psychiatrist or care coordinator if different, and provided with an information sheet. In depth interviews were used to explore patients experiences and phenomenological approach to analyse the data. Findings The patients we interviewed presented with a range of anxiety disorders. There were participants that suffered from generalized anxiety disorder, others with panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, agoraphobia or social phobia. Furthermore, the pharmacological treatment they were receiving varied. The overall treatment varied as treatment with medication was combined with any talking therapy or other support. In this presentation we share some of our patients’ feelings and thoughts about living with an anxiety disorder, their attitudes about the chosen treatment, their subjective perceptions about their medication and their perceptions around the effectiveness of such a treatment.

Issues in the Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

To review the most salient issues in the pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders. These pertain to means of achieving greater efficacy, accelerating the onset of therapeutic action, improving side-effect profile and tolerability, decreasing the propensity to induce therapeutic dependence and achieving better long-term outcome. By and large, pharmacological agents with greater efficacy in anxiety disorders have yet to be developed. Several strategies have been used with some success to make medications for anxiety disorders work faster and to lessen their side-effect burden. The field of psychopharmacology has yet to find ways of lessening or eliminating the problem of therapeutic drug dependence and, even more so, of minimizing the risk of relapse following the cessation of medication.

Sertraline in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Sertraline was first developed and approved for the treatment of depression. However, considerable research has been conducted on its use in anxiety disorders. This paper reviews the data emerging from controlled and open trials of the use of sertraline in anxiety disorders. Sertraline has been tested extensively in the treatment of panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Less extensive testing has been completed on social phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder. The reviewed studies show that sertraline is an effective and well-tolerated treatment of all of these disorders. A comparison of sertraline with other pharmacotherapeutic options shows it to be at least equivalent to other medications for anxiety disorders.

Apathy and Indifference in Patients on Fluvoxamine

Apathy, indifference, loss of initiative, or disinhibition (without concurrent sedation or hypomania) were observed among five patients receiving the serotonin reuptake blocking antidepressants fluvoxamine or fluoxetine. These effects appeared to be dose related. They disappeared rapidly when the dose of fluvoxamine, which has a short half-life, was reduced. Fluoxetine, which has a long half-life, was more difficult to titrate. A possible relationship between mild drug-induced indifference and the therapeutic effects of serotonin reuptake blocking medication in anxiety disorders is discussed.