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Flumazenil challenge in social phobia
Author(s) -
Coupland Nick J.,
Bell Caroline,
Potokar John P.,
Dorkins Eluned,
Nutt David J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6394(2000)11:1<27::aid-da4>3.0.co;2-o
Subject(s) - flumazenil , panic , panic disorder , psychology , benzodiazepine , anxiety , alprazolam , psychiatry , anxiety disorder , situational ethics , anesthesia , clinical psychology , medicine , social psychology , receptor
The benzodiazepine antagonist, flumazenil, can provoke panic attacks in some panic disorder patients. It has been predicted that panic responses to flumazenil may be associated with situational fear. Patients with social phobia frequently experience situational anxiety and panic attacks. The current study tested whether flumazenil induces panic in patients with social phobia. Fourteen patients with social phobia (DSM‐III‐R) and 14 age‐ and sex‐matched controls were tested in a single session, double blind crossover challenge design, using intravenous flumazenil 2 mg/20 ml or matched placebo infusions 1 hour apart. Panic attacks occurred during flumazenil challenge in 2/14 subjects with social phobia. The rate of panic attacks and the severity of panic symptoms following flumazenil were not significantly greater in patients than in controls. Situational fears that are provoked by social cues therefore do not predict panic responses to flumazenil. Depression and Anxiety 11:27–30, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.