COMPARISON OF THE EFFICACY, SAFETY AND WITHDRAWAL OF ALPIDEM AND ALPRAZOLAM IN ANXIOUS PATIENTS

Background. We investigated whether a new non-benzodiazepine anti-anxi ety drug, alpidem, produces weaker withdrawal symptoms than alprazolam . Method. Under a double-blind procedure, 122 patients suffering from general anxiety disorders were randomly allocated to either alpidem (5 0 mg, three times a day) or alprazolam (0.5 mg, three times a day) for six weeks, followed by a two-week placebo withdrawal phase. The diagn osis of withdrawal syndrome (WS) was made, in blind conditions, on the basis of the Withdrawal Symptom Check List (WSCL), after one or two w eeks of discontinuation of active treatment. Results. The WS occurred significantly less frequently in the alpidem group (n = 10, 18%) than in the alprazolam group (n = 26, 48%). Typical withdrawal symptoms on the WSCL were also significantly less severe (P = 0.044) in the alpide m group compared with the alprazolam group. Conclusions. Alpidem may b e a valid alternative to current benzodiazepine anxiolytic therapy bec ause it produces fewer and weaker withdrawal symptoms than alprazolam and is better tolerated.