LACTATE-INDUCED ANXIETY AFTER IMIPRAMINE AND DIAZEPAM TREATMENT

To examine the effect of treatment on lactate-induced anxiety in a con trolled study, we infused 44 panic disorder patients with lactate and placebo before and after eight weeks of double-blind treatment with im ipramine, diazepam, or placebo. During treatment, both imipramine and diazepam groups improved more than the placebo group. After treatment, patients in both the imipramine and diazepam groups had significantly less anxiety than the placebo patients when reinfused with lactate. I n addition, imipramine decreased posttreatment panic attack frequency and diazepam decreased the perceived severity of posttreatment lactate -induced panic attacks. This study demonstrates that diazepam, like im ipramine, is an effective treatment for panic disorder, and that both imipramine and diazepam blunt lactate-induced anxiety in a placebo con trolled study. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.