AIMS This study aims to compare some behavioural characteristics related to circadian functions in healthy subjects, in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and panic disorder (PD) during adulthood (disease period) and during the premorbid age (between 12 and 20 years old). METHODS 132 adult patients with MDD, 144 with PD and 151 adult healthy controls were enrolled in the study. All...

Neuroactive steroids modulate anxiety in experimental animals and possibly in humans. The secretion of these compounds has been found to be altered in panic disorder (PD), with such alterations having been suggested to be a possible cause or effect of panic symptomatology. Panic-like attacks can be induced in healthy individuals by administration of panicogenic agents or by physical procedures,...

It has been suggested that the pathophysiology of panic disorder (PD) may involve abnormalities in several brain structures, including the amygdala. To date, however, no study has used quantitative structural neuroimaging techniques to examine amygdalar anatomy in this disorder. Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of the amygdalas, hippocampi, and temporal lobes were conducted i...

Brain imaging studies suggest that panic disorder (PD) is mediated by several brain regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In the present report we describe a patient who experienced a panic attack during awake surgery (case 1) and another patient who developed PD after surgery and radiotherapy (case 2). In case 1, the patient experienced repeated panic attacks when the tumor a...

OBJECTIVE Panic disorder (PD) has been linked to perturbed processing of threats. This study tested the hypotheses that offspring of parents with PD and offspring with anxiety disorders display relatively greater sensitivity and attention allocation to fear provocation. METHOD Offspring of adults with PD, major depressive disorder (MDD), or no disorder (ages 9-19) viewed computer-presented fa...

The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is becoming widely used in clinical research to provide a window into autonomic control of HR. This technique has been valuable in elucidating the autonomic underpinnings of panic disorder (PD), a condition that is marked by reports of heart palpitations. A body of research has emerged that implicates a relative reduction in HRV and cardiac vagal ton...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this naturalistic study was to evaluate the impact of the duration of untreated illness (DUI) on the outcome and treatment response of panic disorder (PD). METHODS Ninety-six outpatients with PD who underwent an 8-week open-label treatment with serotonergic antidepressants were subdivided into two subgroups: those with DUI 1 year. The main ...

BACKGROUND Controversy surrounds the questions whether co-occurring depression has negative effects on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) outcomes in patients with panic disorder (PD) and agoraphobia (AG) and whether treatment for PD and AG (PD/AG) also reduces depressive symptomatology. METHODS Post-hoc analyses of randomized clinical trial data of 369 outpatients with primary PD/AG (DSM-IV-...

BACKGROUND This article reviews the clinical features, epidemiology, pathophysiology, dental findings, and dental and medical management of the care of patients with panic disorder, or PD. TYPES OF STUDIES REVIEWED The authors conducted a MEDLINE search for the period 1998 through 2003, using the key term "panic disorder" to define the pathophysiology of the disorder, its epidemiology and den...