Posted by ed_uk on January 2, 2006, at 16:04:59
In reply to Riluzole acts against anxiety disorder, posted by valene on January 2, 2006, at 15:31:51
The problem with riluzole is that it's horrendously expensive. Anyway.........
Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Dec;162(12):2379-81.
Open-label trial of riluzole in generalized anxiety disorder.Mathew SJ, Amiel JM, Coplan JD, Fitterling HA, Sackeim HA, Gorman JM.
One Gustave Levy Place, Box 1218, New York, NY 10029. sanjay.mathew@mssm.edu.
OBJECTIVE: There is a need to identify novel pharmacotherapies for anxiety disorders. The authors examined the safety and efficacy of riluzole, an antiglutamatergic agent, in adult outpatients with generalized anxiety disorder. METHOD: In an 8-week, open-label, fixed-dose study, 18 medically healthy patients with DSM-IV generalized anxiety disorder received treatment with riluzole (100 mg/day) following a 2-week drug-free period. The primary efficacy measure was the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) score at endpoint. RESULTS: Twelve of the 15 patients who completed the trial responded positively to riluzole. At 8 weeks, eight of the 15 patients had HAM-A score indicating remission of their anxiety. The median time to response was 2.5 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Riluzole appears to be an effective, well-tolerated, and rapidly acting anxiolytic medication for some patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Larger, placebo-controlled studies are indicated.
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Biol Psychiatry. 2005 Sep 1;58(5):424-8.
Riluzole augmentation in treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: an open-label trial.Coric V, Taskiran S, Pittenger C, Wasylink S, Mathalon DH, Valentine G, Saksa J, Wu YT, Gueorguieva R, Sanacora G, Malison RT, Krystal JH.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine and Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06519, USA. vladimir.coric@yale.edu
BACKGROUND: Most patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) show only partial reduction of symptoms with standard therapy. Recent imaging data suggests glutamatergic dysfunction in the corticostriatal pathway in OCD. We investigated the efficacy of augmentation therapy with riluzole, a glutamate-modulating agent, in treatment-resistant OCD. METHODS: Thirteen patients aged between 18 and 65 years with a primary diagnosis of OCD that had proven resistant to standard treatment were treated with the addition of riluzole to their existing pharmacotherapy. Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Hamilton Depression Inventory (HAM-D), and Hamilton Anxiety Inventory (HAM-A) scores were obtained weekly. RESULTS: Thirteen treatment-resistant OCD patients received riluzole 50 mg twice a day. Y-BOCS scores improved significantly over time. Of 13 patients, 7 (54%) demonstrated a >35% reduction in Y-BOCS scores, and 5 (39%) were categorized as treatment responders. HAM-D and HAM-A scores for the group also significantly improved over time. Riluzole was well tolerated with no serious adverse effects noted. CONCLUSIONS: Riluzole appears to have significant antiobsessional, antidepressant, and antianxiety properties. The addition of this agent may be of practical clinical benefit in patients with OCD.
Ed
poster:ed_uk
thread:594400
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051231/msgs/594409.html