Personalized Clinical Approaches to Anxiety Disorders

[[La...]]

"Personalized Clinical Approaches to Anxiety Disorders"

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32002943

 

Abstract

 

Anxiety disorders (ADs) are common psychiatric disorders, with a lifetime prevalence estimated at 33.7% in epidemiological studies. ADs are associated with serious disability and severe impairment in quality of life. Although several treatments [e.g. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines and/or cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT)] are recommended, a large number of patients (i.e. from 30 to 70%) do not achieve complete remission. According to the novel paradigm of personalized medicine, the search of possible predictors of both disease vulnerability and treatment response might be the best way to prevent more accurately disease risk and to tailor the most effective treatment for each individual. Although a growing body of studies have proposed several endophenotypes/markers (i.e. neurochemical, neuroimaging, physiological, genetic and epigenetic endophenotypes/markers) as possible predictors of ADs susceptibility and/or treatment response, findings are not robust enough to be considered acceptable to incorporate in the clinical practice. In order to obtain more reliable results, larger studies with a multimodal approach, based on a combination of different biomarkers, are needed.

 

[[or...]]

Anxiety disorders (ADs) are common psychiatric disorders,

 

No, anxiety is not a "disorder". It's pretty common, all right, but it sure isn't a "psychiatric disorder". I was anxious for days about flying to New York from Portland last year but I sure didn't consider myself possessed of a "disorder" and run to get a pill. (Been there, done that).

 

But omigosh, speaking of pills, look at this:

 

ADs are associated with serious disability and severe impairment in quality of life. Although several treatments [e.g. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines and/or cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT)] are recommended, a large number of patients (i.e. from 30 to 70%) do not achieve complete remission.

 

An admission that their pills and potions do not work!! People do not achieve "complete remission"!! Oh dear. Let's now look for something else. My guess is that it will come in a bottle.

 

Again, this is so sad, Lapis. In our society it seems we can no longer tolerate any anxiety. It's now a "disorder". And that means, of course, that it can be medicated away. If only the right drug can be found.

 

What a wretched state of affairs. But thanks for posting, anyhow, Lapis.

 

 

Katz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[La...]]

Excellent points, Katz, and I agree. The other thing that struck me was that there was an admission that there was no biomarker that could be counted on to predict this particular "disorder". They're trying really, really hard to find one, though.

 

"Although a growing body of studies have proposed several endophenotypes/markers (i.e. neurochemical, neuroimaging, physiological, genetic and epigenetic endophenotypes/markers) as possible predictors of ADs susceptibility and/or treatment response, findings are not robust enough to be considered acceptable to incorporate in the clinical practice. In order to obtain more reliable results, larger studies with a multimodal approach, based on a combination of different biomarkers, are needed."