Differences between panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder patients in response to alprazolam treatment and withdrawal

Panic disorder (PD) patients were found to differ from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients in their neuroendocrine response to alprazolam treatment and their clinical response to alprazolam withdrawal. During treatment a significant reduction in blood pressure (BP), plasma cortisol and plasma epinephrine was evident in PD and not in GAD patients, while GAD patients demonstrated a significant reduction in plasma norepinephrine. During alprazolam withdrawal, PD patients had more difficulty and did worse compared to GAD patients. Carbamazepine, which was used as adjunctive treatment to assist alprazolam discontinuation, positively affected PD patients but did not improve withdrawal outcome in GAD patients.