P. Pancheri, R. Romiti - Vol. 6, Settembre 2000, num.3
Testo
Immagini Bibliografia
Summary Riassunto Indice
Terapia dell'Ansia Generalizzata
con farmaci antidepressivi. Il ruolo della venlafaxina a Rilascio Prolungato
Treatment of generalised anxiety with antidepressant drugs. The role of
venlafaxine-XR
The restriction of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for generalised anxiety disorder
resulted in a shrinkage of the target diagnosis, paralleled by greater diagnostic
precision. However, this shrinkage may be overcome if the disorder is framed
using a dimensional approach to psychopathology. In fact, the therapeutic efficacy
of several antidepressants has been shown in various anxiety disorders. A positive
therapeutic predictor consists in the serotonergic enhancing properties of the
drug. Venlafaxine, an antidepressant which blocks the serotonin transporter
at medium doses and the noradrenaline transporter at higher doses, specially
in its extended release formulation (Venlafaxine XR), due to its pharmacodynamic
and pharmacokinetic properties, is able to induce an effective symptom reduction
in generalised anxiety and allied conditions, acting at the level of serotonergic
firing rate in raphe nuclei, both median and dorsal, thus correcting pathophysiological
defects present in both anxiety and depression.
