Failure of buspirone to manage benzodiazepine withdrawal.

Fifteen patients with 146 cumulative years of tranquilizer use were withdrawn from their benzodiazepine (nine gradually and six abruptly), and buspirone, a new nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic, was substituted. The addition of buspirone did not appear to lessen the intensity of the withdrawal state. This finding supports preclinical studies indicating that buspirone has no clinically significant benzodiazepine receptor activity.