Pilot open-label study of nefazodone in panic disorder

Ten patients meeting DSM-TV criteria for non-comorbid panic disorder or pan ic disorder with agoraphobia were treated in a 12-week open-label, flexible dosage trial of nefazodone. Dosages ranged from 50 to 400 mg per day. Clin ical assessment utilized several recently developed scales of panic disorde r severity, as well as the clinical global impression scale. At the conclus ion of the study, 9 out of 10 patients were rated much improved with 7 of t he patients rated as panic free and in full remission. Significantly improv ed scores were reflected by all of the scales. Low sample size and absence of placebo control indicate the need for a large placebo-controlled trial. The results of this Pilot study suggest that mefazodone may be promising in tbe treat-ment of panic and justify further research. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.