The treatment of phobic anxiety by zimelidine

Abstract

Seven patients who were diagnosed as suffering from phobic anxiety were treated with a new antidepressant which causes relatively selective inhibition of serotonin uptake. This compound, zimelidine, was given for five weeks in doses of up to 300 mg per day. One patient dropped out of the study. Of the remaining six patients all but one made an improvement, which in most cases is thought to have been a drug effect. One patient relapsed some months following treatment and responded again to treatment with zimelidine having failed to respond to other psychotropic drugs.

Antidepressants in Panic Disorders

“…This finding was replicated in a controlled study (Kahn et al, 1987) in which 5-HTP reduced anxiety symptoms in comparison to placebo, but was less effective than clomipramine. Zimelidine, a potent selective 5-HT re-uptake inhibitor, was effective in agoraphobia with panic attacks in two open trials (Evans & Moore, 1981;Kockzkas & Weldin, 1981), and in one double-blind, placebo-controlled study (Evans et al, 1986).…”

Serotonergic Anxiolytics in the Treatment of Panic Disorder: A Controlled Study With Buspirone

“…For example, tricyclic antide pressants are effective for the treatment of panic disorder [4] and block the reuptake of both norepinephrine and serotonin into presynaptic neurons [5], Since there are interac tions between serotonin and norepinephrine receptors, it is difficult to assign a primary role to either neurotransmitter system [6]; however, recent studies show that drugs with relatively selective effects on serotonergic systems are also effective for panic disorder. The drugs studied, some in controlled trials, include zimelidine [7][8][9], clomipramine [10][11][12], fluvoxamine [10,12], fluoxetine [13], and trazodone [14], although evidence for the latter drug is mixed [15].Buspirone has no effect on serotonin type 2 receptors, but does have a high affin ity for serotonin type 1A receptors [16][17][18]. …”