George D T, Nutt D J, Dwyer B A, Linnoila M
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Laboratory of Clinical Studies, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1990 Feb;81(2):97-107. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1990.tb06460.x.
Studies on alcoholic patients have found a higher than expected prevalence of panic disorder, and suggest a positive correlation between the level of alcohol consumption and severity of anxiety. Conversely, there is an increased prevalence of alcoholism among patients with panic disorder and their blood relatives. A comparison of symptoms, physiological and neurochemical changes known to occur in both alcohol withdrawal and panic disorder reveals a degree of similarity between the 2 conditions. Based on the data, we propose that the chemical and cognitive changes occurring as the result of repeated alcohol withdrawals may kindle and condition coincidence of panic attacks in susceptible individuals. Implications of our postulates for treatment of alcohol withdrawal and panic disorder in alcoholics and for future studies are discussed.
对酒精成瘾患者的研究发现，惊恐障碍的患病率高于预期，并表明酒精摄入量与焦虑严重程度之间呈正相关。相反，惊恐障碍患者及其血亲中酗酒的患病率有所增加。对已知在酒精戒断和惊恐障碍中都会出现的症状、生理和神经化学变化进行比较后发现，这两种情况存在一定程度的相似性。基于这些数据，我们提出，反复酒精戒断导致的化学和认知变化可能会引发易感个体的惊恐发作并使其出现巧合情况。文中讨论了我们的假设对酒精成瘾者酒精戒断和惊恐障碍治疗以及未来研究的意义。
