Evaluation of vilazodone for the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders

Introduction: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) significantly contribute to the global burden of disease. Vilazodone, a combined serotonin reuptake inhibitor and 5-HT1A partial agonist, is an approved therapy for the treatment of MDD and which has been further investigated for GAD.

Areas covered: This article covers the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of vilazodone and provides an evaluation of the clinical usefulness of vilazodone for the treatment of MDD and anxiety disorders. A literature search was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library.

Expert opinion: Studies have shown that vilazodone is significantly superior to placebo. However, vilazodone cannot as yet be recommended as a first-line treatment option for MDD as it is unclear whether the drug’s dual mechanism of action provides greater efficacy than prevailing treatment options. Moreover, more phase IV studies are needed to establish its efficacy and long-term safety in larger and more diverse populations. Although vilazodone may have an additional advantage for the treatment of anxiety symptoms in MDD, here also additional studies are required to confirm its efficacy over and above SSRI alternatives and other antidepressant treatments. Therefore, presently, vilazodone should be considered as a second- or third-line treatment option for MDD and GAD.     

炮震性听力损害与焦虑情绪的关系分析

目的探讨炮震性听力损害程度与焦虑情绪的关系.方法对100名新兵炮手实弹训练前后听力检查及心理问卷调查进行分析.结果有14名听力损害;18名有焦虑情绪阳性.结论炮震性听力损害者具有焦虑情绪明显高于无听力损害者.     

Panic Anxiety after Abrupt Discontinuation of Mianserin

Abstract: We observed a case of withdrawal after abrupt discontinuation of mianserin. A 41-year-old woman was treated according to a diagnosis of depression, which was her 6th episode. Mianserin 30 mg/day, etizolam 1 mg/day and flunitrazepam 1 mg/day were administered. When the patient discontinued taking the drugs by herself because of subsiding of these symptoms, severe panic anxiety appeared. This panic anxiety was not relieved by taking etizolam and flunitrazepam again, but subsided rapidly by the re-administration of mianserin 30 mg/day, and because of that the depressive symptom also disappeared.
From these experiences panic anxiety seemed to be a withdrawal symptom, and involvement of the noradrenergic system in panic anxiety as well as serotonergic system was suggested.     

中美中学生对由父母原因引起的考试焦虑认知研究

目的：比较中国和美国的中学生对由父母原因引起的考试焦虑的认知情况。方法：采用“失败结果预期（FOE）”问卷中的由父母原因引起的考试焦虑12项，测量中美两国公立学校14、15岁的1215名中学生对考试焦虑原因的认知。结果：1．相似认知：两国学生在由父母原因引起的考试焦虑方面有类似的认知，包括父母会担心自己能否进入高一级学校、会让父母烦恼等。2．跨文化的差异：表现为中国学生更多是因为父母责备、辜负了父母期望或会让父母生气而导致考试焦虑；而美国学生更多是由于父母认为他们不能面对生活中的挑战而产生焦虑。3．性别差异：表现在美国的女中学生在7个项目上、中国的男中学生在2个项目上分别比本国异性有更大程度的焦虑（P〈0．05）。结论：中美中学生对由父母原因引起的考试焦虑方面有类似的认知，但存在文化差异和性别差异。     

社会支持对考试应激的影响

目的了解社会支持对考试应激的影响。方法采用焦虑自评量表和社会支持量表分别对７２７个学生考试前１个月、考试期间考试焦虑分数及社会支持情况进行调查，比较分析考试焦虑分数与社会支持因素的关系。结果考试焦虑分数与客观支持、来自同学和老师的主观支持以及社会支持的利用度成反比。结论家长和学校给予学生足够的社会支持，以及让学生参加适当的社会活动，培养他们利用社会支持的能力，有助于让学生减缓考试应激的水平     

Prospective study of phobic anxiety and risk of Parkinson's disease.

Anxiety disorders are common in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the risk of PD among people with anxiety has not been examined in a prospective cohort study. We examined this relation prospectively within the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, a cohort of US male health professionals. In 1988, anxiety was assessed using the Crown-Crisp phobic anxiety index in 35,815 men without PD, stroke, or cancer at baseline. There were 189 incident cases of PD during 12 years of follow-up. After adjusting for age, smoking, and caffeine intake, the relative risk of PD among men with the highest level of anxiety (Crown-Crisp index scores of 4 and above) was 1.5 (95% CI = 1.0-2.1; P-trend = 0.01) compared to men with the lowest level of anxiety. This positive association persisted after excluding cases of PD with onset in the first 2 years of follow-up. Use of anxiolytic medication was also associated with an elevated risk of PD (RR= 1.6; 95% CI = 0.9-3.1), but adjusting for this potential confounder did not materially affect the association between anxiety and risk of PD. Our results suggest that anxiety is a risk factor for PD. Whether this association is causal or the result of shared underlying biology remains a question.     

The Effects of Video Feedback on Self-Perception of Performance: A Replication and Extension

Video feedback has been shown to increase performance estimates on the part of speech anxious individuals (R. M. Rapee & K. Hayman, 1996). The present experiment tested a video feedback condition against 2 control conditions. A possible moderator of video feedback effects, the degree to which participants underrated their initial speech, was also tested, as was the possibility of mediation of video feedback's effects by increases in self-efficacy. Participants were 90 speech anxious undergraduate students. Although video feedback showed transitory effects across the sample as a whole, the effect was consistently positive for participants who highly underrated their first speech. Self-efficacy was an important predictor of change in self-perception of performance, but was not a mediator of video feedback's effects.     

丁螺环酮和阿普唑仑治疗广泛性焦虑研究

目的：比较国产丁螺环酮和阿普唑仑治疗广泛性焦虑的疗效和不良反应。方法：对78例广泛性焦虑按照就医顺序分为两组，分别服用丁螺环酮(38例)和阿普唑仑(40例)。疗程6周。于治疗前及治疗第1、2、4、6周末进行汉密尔顿焦虑量表(HAMA)及副反应量表(TESS)评定疗效和不良反应。结果：丁螺环酮和阿普唑仑的疗效相仿，丁螺环酮的不良反应少且轻微，无过度镇静和肌肉松弛作用，不产生药物依赖。结论：丁螺环酮是治疗广泛性焦虑较为理想的药物。     

A blinded,controlled evaluation of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia,as measured by standardized psychometric interview scales

The objective of the study was to evaluate the presence of psychopathology in fibromyalgia patients compared with a control group of other rheumatologic patients with pain. Forty-nine fibromyalgia patients and 33 control patients were interviewed blinded, using standardized psychometric scales. Pain was scored on a visual analogue scale. Fibromyalgia patients scored significantly higher than the controls on the Bech-Rafaelsen Melancholia Scale, the Atypical Depression Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. On the Newcastle Depression Scale there was no difference. In both groups a correlation was found between pain score and psychometric scoring. The fibromyalgia patients scored significantly higher on pain than the controls. After correcting for this difference, the fibromyalgia patients still scored higher on anxiety and depression.     

A new self-rating scale for depression and anxiety states based on the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale

Self-assessment scales have long been used in psychiatric research even if their validity has often been questioned, one reason being poor the concordance of expert ratings. In clinical practice the use of rating scales is restricted, since they are considered to be time-consuming and perhaps even to disrupt the clinician's rapport with the patient. In the present study, a self-assessment scale, the CPRS Self-rating Scale for Affective Syndromes (CPRS-S-A), was constructed by re-phrasing in a self-rating format 19 items from the original Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and covering depression, anxiety and obsessional symptoms. In a group of 30 patients with depression syndromes and anxiety syndromes, the CPRS-S-A and the original CPRS were both used on 2 occasions. The patient's Global Assessment of Functioning scores ranged from 30 to 76 (mean 58), which suggests a moderate severity of illness, as does the fact that the majority were outpatients. There was a high degree of concordance between the instruments for most items and for the scores on the subscales for both diagnostic groups (i.e., the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Brief Anxiety Scale, which are both subscales drawn from the CPRS). The time taken to complete the CPRS-S-A varied from 5 to 30 min (mean 19 min for depressive and 16 min for anxiety patients on the first occasion, 13 min for both groups on the second), and the self-rating procedure was readily accepted by both groups of patients. The CPRS-S-A would thus seem to be a promising instrument for quantitative rating of symptoms in ambulatory patients, both in clinical practice and in research.