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Pharmacology & Therapeutics Dec 2019Current medication for anxiety disorders is suboptimal in terms of efficiency and tolerability, highlighting the need for improved drug treatments. In this review an... (Review)
Review
Current medication for anxiety disorders is suboptimal in terms of efficiency and tolerability, highlighting the need for improved drug treatments. In this review an overview of drugs being studied in different phases of clinical trials for their potential in the treatment of fear-, anxiety- and trauma-related disorders is presented. One strategy followed in drug development is refining and improving compounds interacting with existing anxiolytic drug targets, such as serotonergic and prototypical GABAergic benzodiazepines. A more innovative approach involves the search for compounds with novel mechanisms of anxiolytic action using the growing knowledge base concerning the relevant neurocircuitries and neurobiological mechanisms underlying pathological fear and anxiety. The target systems evaluated in clinical trials include glutamate, endocannabinoid and neuropeptide systems, as well as ion channels and targets derived from phytochemicals. Examples of promising novel candidates currently in clinical development for generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder include ketamine, riluzole, xenon with one common pharmacological action of modulation of glutamatergic neurotransmission, as well as the neurosteroid aloradine. Finally, compounds such as D-cycloserine, MDMA, L-DOPA and cannabinoids have shown efficacy in enhancing fear-extinction learning in humans. They are thus investigated in clinical trials as an augmentative strategy for speeding up and enhancing the long-term effectiveness of exposure-based psychotherapy, which could render chronic anxiolytic drug treatment dispensable for many patients. These efforts are indicative of a rekindled interest and renewed optimism in the anxiety drug discovery field, after decades of relative stagnation.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety Disorders; Humans; Molecular Targeted Therapy
PubMed: 31470029
DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2019.107402 -
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management May 2014
Review
Topics: Anti-Anxiety Agents; Benzodiazepines; Hospice Care; Humans; Palliative Care
PubMed: 24681184
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2014.03.001 -
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2013
Topics: Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety Disorders; Benzodiazepines; Humans
PubMed: 24061158
DOI: 10.1159/000353599 -
Revue Medicale de Liege Jan 1996
Topics: Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety Disorders; Benzodiazepines; History, 20th Century; Humans
PubMed: 8701142
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Addictions Nursing May 2012
Review
Topics: Anti-Anxiety Agents; Humans; Lorazepam; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 22548613
DOI: 10.3109/10884602.2012.669122 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Apr 2022Aromas have a powerful influence in our everyday life and are known to exhibit an array of pharmacological properties, including anxiolytic, anti-stress, relaxing, and... (Review)
Review
Aromas have a powerful influence in our everyday life and are known to exhibit an array of pharmacological properties, including anxiolytic, anti-stress, relaxing, and sedative effects. Numerous animal and human studies support the use of aromas and their constituents to reduce anxiety-related symptoms and/or behaviours. Although the exact mechanism of how these aromas exert their anxiolytic effects is not fully understood, the GABAergic system is thought to be primarily involved. The fragrance emitted from a number of plant essential oils has shown promise in recent studies in modulating GABAergic neurotransmission, with GABA receptors being the primary therapeutic target. This review will explore the anxiolytic and sedative properties of aromas found in common beverages, such as coffee, tea, and whisky as well aromas found in food, spices, volatile organic compounds, and popular botanicals and their constituents. In doing so, this review will focus on these aromas and their influence on the GABAergic system and provide greater insight into viable anxiety treatment options.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Odorants; Oils, Volatile; Plant Oils; Receptors, GABA-A
PubMed: 35458615
DOI: 10.3390/molecules27082414 -
Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery Apr 2012Rich evidence has shown that cannabis products exert a broad gamut of effects on emotional regulation. The main psychoactive ingredient of hemp, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol... (Review)
Review
Rich evidence has shown that cannabis products exert a broad gamut of effects on emotional regulation. The main psychoactive ingredient of hemp, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and its synthetic cannabinoid analogs have been reported to either attenuate or exacerbate anxiety and fear-related behaviors in humans and experimental animals. The heterogeneity of cannabis-induced psychological outcomes reflects a complex network of molecular interactions between the key neurobiological substrates of anxiety and fear and the endogenous cannabinoid system, mainly consisting of the arachidonic acid derivatives anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and two receptors, respectively termed CB1 and CB2. The high degree of interindividual variability in the responses to cannabis is contributed by a wide spectrum of factors, including genetic and environmental determinants, as well as differences in the relative concentrations of THC and other alkaloids (such as cannabidiol) within the plant itself. The present article reviews the currently available knowledge on the herbal, synthetic and endogenous cannabinoids with respect to the modulation of anxiety responses, and highlights the challenges that should be overcome to harness the therapeutic potential of some of these compounds, all the while limiting the side effects associated with cannabis consumption. In addition the article presents some promising patents on cannabinoid-related agents.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety Disorders; Cannabinoids; Humans
PubMed: 22280339
DOI: 10.2174/157488912798842269 -
Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi =... 1996
Review
Topics: Anti-Anxiety Agents; Benzodiazepines; Drug Tolerance; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 9064692
DOI: No ID Found -
Handbook of Clinical Neurology 2012
Review
Topics: Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety; Biogenic Monoamines; Brain; Humans
PubMed: 22608651
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-52002-9.00040-1 -
European Neuropsychopharmacology : the... May 1991This overview deals first with the actual views on the neurobiology of anxiety, focusing on the limbic system and epileptiform neuronal activities. No single... (Review)
Review
This overview deals first with the actual views on the neurobiology of anxiety, focusing on the limbic system and epileptiform neuronal activities. No single neurotransmitter system is likely to be involved exclusively in prevention or generation of anxiety and, hence, to be a target for drugs affecting anxiety specifically. Next, animal tests currently used to identify drugs effective in the treatment of anxiety, in particular specific forms of anxiety, are discussed. Drugs currently used in the treatment of anxiety as well as anxiogenic agents and their mechanisms of action are compared. The future development in the field of anxiety-reducing drugs is seen in partial agonists of benzodiazepine receptors. Specific ligands of the various 5-HT receptors may replace benzodiazepine receptor ligands in specific forms of anxiety disorders, but do not seem to represent general alternatives, in particular, when an immediate attenuation of anxiety is required.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety; Humans
PubMed: 1687977
DOI: 10.1016/0924-977x(91)90708-3