Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-vpsfw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T19:14:33.679Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Phenelzine in phobic anxiety: a controlled trial1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Peter Tyrer ,
Julian Candy  and
Desmond Kelly
Peter Tyrer
Affiliation:
From the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, London
Julian Candy
Affiliation:
From the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, London
Desmond Kelly
Affiliation:
St. George's Hospital, London
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

A double-blind trial of phenelzine versus placebo in psychiatric outpatients with long-standing phobic anxiety is described. Forty patients with agoraphobia or social phobias entered the trial and 32 of these completed treatment with either phenelzine or placebo (with appropriate dietary restrictions) in flexible dosage for two months. Fourteen pairs of patients were prospectively matched, and analysis of the score differences between these pairs showed a significant improvement for patients on phenelzine compared with placebo on overall assessment (P<0·01) and secondary phobias (P<0·05). These differences were not shown at assessment after one month's treatment, but became marked after two months. The improvement on phenelzine, which was maintained at follow-up, was not related to initial depressive symptoms in the patients. It is suggested that phenelzine is an effective agent in the treatment of phobic anxiety but that treatment needs to be continued for at least two months before full benefit is achieved.

Type
Preliminary Communication
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , February 1973 , pp. 120 - 124
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1973

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Gelder, M. G., and Marks, I. M. (1966). Severe agoraphobia: a controlled prospective tria! of behaviour therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 112, 309–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenblatt, M., Grosser, G. H., and Wechsler, H. (1964). Difierential response of hospitalized depressed patients to Somatic therapy. American Journal of Psychiairy, 120, 935–943.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hare, E. H., Dominian, J., and Sharpe, L. (1962). Phenclzine and dexamphetamine in depressive illness: a comparative trial. British Medical Journal, 1, 9–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelly, D., Guirguis, W., Frommer, E., Milchell-Heggs, N., and Sargant, W. (1970). Treatment of phobic states with antidepressants. British Journal of Psychiatry, 116, 387–398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, A. (1962). Phenelzine treatment of Roth's calamity syndrome. Medical Journal of Auslralia, 1, 879–883.Google Scholar
Lipsedge, M. S., Hajioff, J., Huggins, P., Napier, L., Pearce, J., and Rich, M. (1973). To be published.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. (1969). Fears and Phobias. Heinemann: London.Google Scholar
Medical Research Council. (1965). Clinical trial of the treatment of depressive illness. Report by its clinical psychiatry committee: Medical Journal, 1, 881–886.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sargant, W., and Dally, P. J. (1962). Treatment of anxiety states by antidepressant drugs. British Medical Journal, 1, 6–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, L. (1959). The prognosis for affective illness with overt anxiety. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 22, 338–341.Google Scholar
West, E. D., and Dally, P. J. (1959). Effect of iproniazid in depressive syndromes. British Medical Journal, 1, 1491–1494.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K., Birley, J. L. T., Cooper, J. E., Graham, P., and Isaacs, A. D. (1967). Reliability of a procedure for measuring and classifying ‘present psychiatric state’. British Journal of Psychiatry, 113, 499–515.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed