Response to sodium lactate in panic disorder: relationship to presenting clinical variables.

Sodium lactate infusion provokes more physiological and psychological symptoms of panic in patients with panic attacks than in normal controls. The relationship between response to sodium lactate infusion and presenting clinical characteristics was examined in 50 patients with panic disorder or agoraphobia with panic attacks. Lactate-induced panic was significantly related only to a patient-reported family history of panic. Rating of physical symptoms during lactate infusion, but not overall response to lactate, was significantly correlated with Symptom Checklist-90 somatization scores. In general, lactate response does not identify clinically distinct subpopulations of patients with panic disorder.