THE EFFECT OF PAROXETINE ON ANXIETY AND AGITATION ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSION (REPRINTED FROM PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY BULLETIN, VOL 28, PG 139-143, 1992)

To assess the effects of treatment on symptoms of anxiety and agitatio n associated with depression, a data base of 2,963 paroxetine-treated patients was compared with 554 who received placebo and 1,151 on activ e control. Paroxetine and active control both reduced baseline psychic anxiety more effectively than placebo. Both pharmacologic treatments were effective in treating somatic anxiety, with active control demons trating an earlier onset of activity. Neither paroxetine nor active co ntrol induced new anxiety symptoms. Paroxetine was superior to placebo in the treatment of agitation at weeks 4 and 6 and to active control at week 4 only. Both paroxetine and active control were more protectiv e against emergent (new) agitation than placebo. There was no differen ce between the three groups in the incidence of spontaneously reported adverse events indicative of anxiety.