Pharmacologic treatment of anxiety disorders.

The benzodiazepines and the beta-adrenergic blockers are effective in the treatment of anxiety neurosis (generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder) but offer little help in the treatment of agoraphobia and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The antidepressants are often effective in agoraphobia and obsessive-compulsive disorders, and the evidence suggests that their antipanic and antiobsessional effects may be independent of their antidepressant properties. There is suggestive evidence linking the antiobsessional effect to a specific neurotransmitter (serotonin) system.