The new and newer antianxiety agents

Anxiolytic drugs are adjuncts to non-pharmacological treatments for anxiety. Alcohol and tobacco remain the major psychoactive agents that are used in our community. Benzodiazepine drugs are the agents of choice if an acute reduction in anxiety or intermittent therapy is needed and are helpful for long-term use in a few patients. For panic disorders, alprazolam is effective for short- and long-term treatment, although it needs a slow reduction in dosage and carries a risk of withdrawal reactions in about 30% of sufferers. Clonazepam also may help panic attacks and possibly other benzodiazepine agents would show similar effects at equivalent doses. Antidepressant drugs, including monoamine-oxidase inhibitor agents, although more toxic and sometimes less tolerated than is alprazolam, have antipanic effects in high doses and are of use for prolonged therapy for panic disorders. Neuroleptic agents' general usefulness as anxiolytic drugs is restricted because of their acute and long-term toxicity. There is no place for the use of antidepressant or neuroleptic drugs as treatments of first choice in uncomplicated generalized anxiety. beta-blocking agents have limited adjunctive use for performance anxiety and social phobias. Buspirone heralds a new class of anxiolytic agents. Buspirone has advantages in patients who can tolerate its slow onset of action, with reduced psychomotor effects, lower interactive effects with cortical depressant substances and a seeming lack of dependency or any withdrawal syndrome.