The aim of the present study was to verify the sensitivity to the carbon dioxide (CO2) challenge test of panic disorder (PD) patients with respiratory and nonrespiratory subtypes of the disorder. Our hypothesis is that the respiratory subtype is more sensitive to 35% CO2. Twenty-seven PD subjects with or without agoraphobia were classified into respiratory and nonrespiratory subtypes on the bas...

BACKGROUND In Panic Disorder (PD) both somatic and cognitive symptoms occur. Cognitive functions which may be involved with anxiety and maladaptive cognition such as e.g. attention, memory and perception might be decreased. MATERIAL AND METHODS Within the preliminary studies eleven patients diagnosed with panic disorder (DSM-IV-TR), and nine healthy controls were studied. The severity of diso...

Panic disorder (PD) is a severe anxiety disorder that is characterized by recurrent panic attacks (PA), which can be unexpected (uPA, i.e., no clear identifiable trigger) or expected (ePA). Panic typically involves an abrupt feeling of catastrophic fear or distress accompanied by physiological symptoms such as palpitations, racing heart, thermal sensations, and sweating. Recurrent uPA and ePA c...

This is a complete report of an open trial of manualized psychodynamic psychotherapy for treatment of panic disorder, Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (PFPP). Twenty-one patients with PD were entered into a trial of twice-weekly, 24-session treatment. Sixteen of 21 experienced remission of panic and agoraphobia. Treatment completers with depression also experienced remission of depress...

OBJECTIVE To compare nocturnal and diurnal panic attacks in a cross-sectional study and in a longitudinal prospective short-term follow-up. METHODS We selected 57 panic disorder (PD) subjects (DSM-IV) and rated them with the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) at baseline and after 30 days of treatment with nortriptyline, and with the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Brown Attention Def...

While research has shown strong associations between Panic Disorder and symptoms of gastrointestinal distress, there is a dearth of evidence on limited symptom Panic Disorder with the primary symptom of gastrointestinal distress. Most published studies have been single case studies or small case series, and proper classification remains unclear. Although a formal diagnosis does not exist for th...

An emotional Stroop task with four word types (panic threat, obsessive-compulsive threat, general threat, and neutral) and two presentation conditions (supraliminal, subliminal) was used in two experiments. The first experiment involved 21 panic disorder (PD) patients and 20 normal controls; the second experiment 20 PD patients and 20 obsessive-compulsive patients. PD patients, obsessive-compul...

THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT of epidemiologic studies we are able to say that 3.5% of the general population suffer from panic disorder1 with serious personal and social repercussions, such as depression, substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies.2 According to the DSM-IV,3 the essential feature of panic disorder (PD) is the occurrence of panic attacks. A panic attack is a sudden onset period of inte...

BACKGROUND Panic disorder (PD) is a disabling psychiatry condition that affects approximately 5% of the worldwide population. Currently, long-term selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first-line treatment for PD; however, the common side-effect profiles and drug interactions may provoke patients to abandon the treatment, leading to PD symptoms relapse. Cannabidiol (CBD) is th...

INTRODUCTION The most widely used instrument to measure perceived exertion or exercise intensity is the Borg's Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale. Panic attacks are aversive experiences that may be triggered by bodily sensations such as palpitations, breathlessness or dizziness due to increasing autonomic distress, prior sensitisation to panic and fear conditioning. The consequence is cat...