Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0012833 (dizziness)
 9,689 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Panic disorder, a severe anxiety disorder, affects 1-2% of the general population, mostly women 20-40 years old. A 29-year-old married white women with no children presented with an 18-month history of panic attacks. Episodes of abrupt anxiety lasted 5-20 minutes and occurred 3-4 times per week accompanied by rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness, and a fear of losing control. She was evaluated by a cardiologist several months earlier for episodic tachycardia, but the tests were normal. She was taking .5 mg of lorazepam po 2-3 times per month, which relieved her anxiety. Her only other medication was 1 tablet/day of Triphasal oral contraceptive (OC). She was started on treatment with desipramine 10 mg, and the dose gradually increased to 60 mg/day which she was unable to tolerate because of marked anorexia; lorazepam .5 mg bid and 10.5-mg tablet p.r.n. was continued to address excess activation secondary to the tricyclic depressant. She had changed from a constant dose OC (Lo/Ovral) to a triphasic preparation (Triphasil) 6 months prior to the onset of her panic attacks. The OC was halted, and she has experienced no subsequent panic attacks or avoidance behaviors during 2 years of follow-up. In the 2nd case a 39-year-old married white woman with 3 children presented with a 3-year history of panic attacks. She was given Ortho-Novum 7/7/7 1 tablet/day for about 8 months prior to her 1st panic attack, which occurred while she was driving. Her medications were clorazepate 3.75 mg b.i. d. and Ortho-Novum 7/7/7 1 tablet g.d. for 21 days of each month; she had been taking both since October 1984. Her father and brother had exhibited some driving avoidance behaviors. Because the triphasic OC preparation possible precipitated her panic disorder with agoraphobia, she was changed to Ortho-Novum 1/35 OC which has markedly improved her anxiety for 2 years now.
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PMID:Oral contraceptives and panic disorder. 759 8

Gepirone, an azapirone, is a potent 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A (5-HT1A) agonist. We report an uncontrolled 6-week study in 21 patients (4 men, 17 women: mean age, 36.71 years) with a concurrent DSM-III-R diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder with agoraphobia. After a 2-week medication-free period, patients were started on 2 mg of gepirone per day increasing over 3 weeks to 12 mg/day. Three patients dropped out in the first week, and one patient violated the protocol. They were therefore excluded from analysis. Two patients who dropped out at weeks 4 and 5 because they found the treatment ineffective were included. Twelve of the 17 patients (70.6%) had at least a 50% reduction in their panic attacks by week 6, and 9 of them had at least a 50% reduction by week 3. Ten patients had "0" panic attacks by week 6 (59%). On the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, 65% had a 50% or greater reduction in total score, mostly beginning in week 1. On Global Assessment, by week 6, 11 were much improved or better (65%). Adverse effects were rare and consisted of stomach upset, dizziness, or headaches. This preliminary study suggests the possible efficacy of gepirone in panic disorder.
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PMID:Gepirone and the treatment of panic disorder: an open study. 809 26