No abstract

One hundred and twenty-three patients with mild to moderate depressive illness were entered into a double-blind between-patient study of viloxazine hydrochloride (150 mg/day, expressed as base) and imipramine hydrochloride (75 mg/day, expressed as salt) by nine general practitioners. Sixty-two took viloxazine and sixty-one took imipramine. Both drugs produced a statistically highly significant improvement in both the depressive and anxiety symptoms over the period of the study, an effect being seen as early as the seventh day of treatment. Viloxazine produced fewer side-effects than imipramine, in particular significantly less drowsiness and dry mouth. The only side-effect seen with viloxazine was an upper gastro-intestinal disturbance with nausea and occasional vomiting, but this was transient. It is concluded that viloxazine hydrochloride is an effective anti-depressant in mild to moderate cases of depression in general practice and has the advantage of fewer side-effects than imipramine. The absence of sedation with viloxazine is of particular value in the treatment of ambulant patients.

Purpose Acne vulgaris is a common dermatological disease in adolescents that show high prevalence rates of anxiety and depression that may lead to consequences that affect quality of life. This study aimed to assess and compare anxiety and depression in patients with acne and a control group and to determine their correlation with other demographic data. Patients and Methods This was a case-control study conducted in 2019 for 3 months at the derma-tology department of Ohud Hospital and two other private clinics in the Medina region of Saudi Arabia. For this study, 296 consecutive patients in the age group of 12 to 60 years who were diagnosed as having acne vulgaris were enrolled and matched with a control group. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire, including sociodemographic data and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores. Results We found no significant differences between the two groups regarding sex, age group, nationality, and educational level, but found a significant difference in marital status (p < 0.001). Most (62.5%) of the acne cases were moderate in severity. The overall anxiety score in the acne group was 7.68 ± 4.90, with a significant difference with the control group (p = 0.031), whereas the anxiety level and depression score showed no significant difference (p = 0.082 and p = 0.656, respectively). Moreover, a strong correlation was found between anxiety and depression in the acne group (r = 0.732, p < 0.001). Conclusion A positive correlation was found between the anxiety and depression scores in the patients with acne, which was not related to age group or educational level. However, the anxiety scores of the patients with acne showed a significant relationship with sex.

Fifty obese patients were entered into a 12-week parallel group study of mazindol with diethylpropion in a general practice group. Both drugs produced weight loss, but patients on mazindol lost 19.9 lbs in 12 weeks, while those on diethylpropion lost 11.6 lbs, a statistically significant difference (p less than 0.01). At each visit during the trial, patients had lost more weight with mazindol, but this was only significant statistically in the period 8-12 weeks (p less than 0.01). Patients developed tolerance to the effect of diethylpropion in the last period (8-12 weeks) but this was not evident in those patients taking mazindol. The number of side-effects was less in the mazindol group and mainly of an adrenergic, peripheral type, while those in the diethylpropion group are mainly of the central stimulant type.

A double-blind, double-dummy between-patient study in general practice was carried out to compare the effectiveness of a single, night-time dosage of Trancopal and a three times daily dose of chlordiazepoxide in controlling neurotic anxiety. Ninety-three patients received either 400 mg of Trancopal at night and a chlordiazepoxide placebo capsule three times daily or 10 mg of chlordiazepoxide three times daily and one or two Trancopal placebo tablets at night. Each was treated for four weeks. Three assessments were made using a physicians' rating scale (modified Hamilton Scale). A visual analogue scale was completed by patients initially and at weekly intervals and physicians' and patients' global assessments were made at Weeks 2 and 4.Each treatment group improved considerably over the period of the study both for sleep and anxiety ratings. A statistically significant correlation was found between improvement in day-time fatigue and loss of energy and improvement in sleep disturbance only in the Trancopal group. Loss of concentration was analyzed separately in patients over 40 years old and there was a significant improvement in the physicians' rating in the Trancopal group.There was a very close correlation throughout between the physician's and patient's own assessment of improvement. Few side-effects not already reported at the start of the trial were reported on either treatment. It was concluded that Trancopal at a usual dosage of 400 mg at night offers an effective alternative to a divided dose of chlordiazepoxide. Not only is the beneficial effect on symptoms of anxiety similar but there is some suggestion of a greater improvement in sleep and less interference with day-time functioning.

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of tiaprofenic acid 200 mg t.d.s. were compared with those of aspirin 600 mg t.d.s. in 100 patients in general practice suffering from muscular rheumatic pain, fibrositis, sprains and soft tissue injuries. Tiaprofenic acid was shown to be better than aspirin in relieving pain by clinical assessment although both drugs were equally effective according to patients daily assessment. It was not possible to demonstrate any anti-inflammatory action by reduction of swelling, but this was only present in 20% of patients initially. Side-effects, none serious, were similar in both groups.

A single-blind comparison of lymecycline and amoxycillin was performed by three general practitioners in the treatment of acute bronchitis. A total of 132 patients were treated for seven days with lymecycline (204 mg) two capsules twice daily or amoxycillin 250 mg three times daily. Symptoms and signs assessed were cough, dyspnoea, sputum volume, purulence of sputum and temperature. Both drugs brought about a statistically significant improvement. For all parameters the improvements seen with lymecycline were superior to those seen with amoxycillin although in no case did any of these reach statistical significance. However, in the case of purulent sputum those patients receiving lymecycline showed improvement which reached borderline significance (0-05 less than p less than 0-1) as compared with amoxycillin. Side-effects in the case of both drugs were negligible.

One hundred patients were admitted to a double-blind group comparative trial of two doses of oxypertine (Integrin) in the treatment of morbid anxiety in a general practice setting. The two dosage regimes were 10 mg thrice daily and 5 mg thrice daily respectively, patients being allocated in a random manner to one or other of these. Physicians assessment were made on a modified Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale on admission and after two and four weeks treatment. A patient's self-rating scale was also carried out on these occasions using a nine item visual analogue scale embracing some symptoms of anxiety states. Eighty-nine completed case records were available for analysis. Each dosage regime brought about a similar and highly significant improvement after both two and four weeks of treatment. In both the magnitude of clinical response and rapidity of onset of action the lower dose regime was found to compare favourably with the higher dosage. Each was well tolerated and associated with a very low incidence of undesirable effects.