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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by JohnB on November 5, 1999, at 8:40:22
hi, everyone. here are two articles i copied from a pubmed search on "buspar AND 'social phobia'." the first article indicates a 67% "at least much improved" rate for patients able to tolerate a dose of 45mg/day or more. the second study reflects result of buspar augmentation of an ssri for the treatment of social phobia. for those patients who were only partial responders to an ssri, alone, 70% were considered responders (marked or moderate improvement) when given buspar in addition to an ssri. WHAT I GET FROM ALL OF THIS IS THAT A BUSPAR/SSRI COMBINATION SEEMS TO WORK. I'VE ALSO READ OF BUSPAR BEING USED TO ELIMINATE OR MINIMIZE THE COGNITIVE AND SEXUAL SIDE EFFECTS OF SSRI'S, THOUGH I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY CONTROLLED STUDIES.
QUESTION: HAS ANYONE SUCCESSFULLY USED HIGH DOSE BUSPAR OR BUSPAR/SSRI COMBINATION IN SUCCESSFULLY TREATING SOCIAL PHOBIA? ANY DETAILS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. THANKS. JOHNB
p.s. the web site address for a free pubmed search is http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/ for those of you who haven't used this excellent resource
ARTICLE #1
J Clin Psychopharmacol 1993 Aug;13(4):251-6Buspirone in social phobia.
Schneier FR, Saoud JB, Campeas R, Fallon BA, Hollander E, Coplan J, Liebowitz MR
Anxiety Disorders Clinic, New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY 10032.The novel anxiolytic agent buspirone has been shown to be effective in generalized anxiety disorder, but its utility in phobic disorders is less clear. We examined its efficacy in social phobia in a 12-week open trial. Twenty-one patients who met DSM-III-R criteria for social phobia and who did not respond to 1 week of single-blind placebo were treated with buspirone, and 17 completed a minimum of 2 weeks of treatment. Twelve of these 17 patients met criteria for the generalized subtype of social phobia. At week 12, 8 (47%) of the 17 patients were rated much to very much improved in social phobia symptoms on the Clinical Global Impression Scale. Of the 12 patients who were able to tolerate a dose of 45 mg/day or more, 9 (67%) were at least much improved. Significant improvement was noted on measures of social anxiety and avoidance of social situations. Ratings of generalized anxiety and depression, which were low at baseline, did not change significantly during treatment. The results suggest that buspirone may have modest efficacy in the treatment of social phobia, but confirmation in a placebo-controlled trial is required.
Publication Types:
Clinical trial
PMID: 8376612, UI: 93388903
ARTICLE#2
J Affect Disord 1996 Jul 8;39(2):115-21Buspirone augmentation of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in social phobia.
Van Ameringen M, Mancini C, Wilson C
Department of Psychiatry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.We evaluated the efficacy of buspirone, in the augmentation of social phobic symptom response to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Ten patients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for generalized social phobia were studied. Patients obtaining only a partial response to an adequate trial of an SSRI, received buspirone in addition to the SSRI for 8 weeks in an open trial. Seven patients (70%) were considered responders (moderate or marked improvement) and 3 (30%) were considered nonresponders (minimal improvement or no change). This study provides clinical evidence suggesting that buspirone augmentation may be a useful clinical strategy in social phobic patients who show a partial response to an SSRI.
PMID: 8827420, UI: 96424969
Posted by SocialPhobic on November 5, 1999, at 16:02:24
In reply to High Dose Buspar for Social Phobia - Pub Med Artic, posted by JohnB on November 5, 1999, at 8:40:22
Hi, John
I understand that Buspar can be taken in doses up to 60 mg/day. Also, most of the controlled studies in which Buspar was tried for social phobia, the dosage was as little as 15 mg/day, and no higher than 30 mg/day. I understand that the minimum effective dose for social phobia is 45mg/day, up to 60 mg/day, and that you may have to wait as long as 6 week to achieve therapeutic effect
Posted by Elizabeth on November 5, 1999, at 23:54:32
In reply to Re: High Dose Buspar for Social Phobia - Pub Med Artic, posted by SocialPhobic on November 5, 1999, at 16:02:24
> I understand that Buspar can be taken in doses up to 60 mg/day.
That's the manufacturer's recommended maximum dose. Studies that have shown buspirone monotherapy to be superior to placebo in major depressive disorder have permitted doses up to 90mg/day. (Buspar was originally studied as a potential antipsychotic in doses of up to ~1500 mg. Yeah, you read that right.)
Posted by JOHNB on November 6, 1999, at 13:58:51
In reply to Re: high-dose Buspar, posted by Elizabeth on November 5, 1999, at 23:54:32
THANKS, ALOT, ELIZABETH. NOW, I'M WELL ARMED TO DISCUSS HIGH-DOSE BUSPAR WITH MY PSYCHDOC.
JOHNB:)
Posted by dj on November 6, 1999, at 16:35:44
In reply to WOW - THANKS, ELIZABETH, posted by JOHNB on November 6, 1999, at 13:58:51
PUTTING EVERYTHING IN CAPITALs is known as SHOUTING...
> THANKS, ALOT
> JOHNB:)
This is the end of the thread.
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