Posted by yxibow on November 3, 2006, at 2:34:00
In reply to Abecarnil, posted by Tom Twilight on November 2, 2006, at 16:50:46
> Abecarnil is an experimental anti-anxiety drug
>
> I think that its time has come and gone!
> Like so many interesting compounds :(
>
> Does anyone know anything about it?
>
> There would be a big market for selling anti-anxiety "research chemicals" online as opposed to Trippy ones I would have though.
----------------------------------Clinical Evidence, © BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2006.
Mental health
Generalised anxiety disorder
Christopher Gale and Mark Oakley-Browne
Treatments
Abecarnil
One RCT found limited evidence that low dose abecarnil improved symptoms compared with placebo. Another RCT found no significant difference in symptoms at 6 weeks between abecarnil and placebo or diazepam. Both RCTs found that abecarnil increased drowsiness compared with placebo.
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BenefitsWe found no systematic review, but found two multicentre RCTs of abecarnil (an anxiolytic).[32] [48] The first RCT (129 people) compared 3 weeks of treatment with abecarnil in three separate dose regimens (3–9, 7.5–15, and 15–30 mg/day) versus placebo.[48] Within each group the dose was escalated from the minimum to the maximum over the length of the trial. It found that lower doses of abecarnil (3–9 mg/day) significantly improved symptoms compared with placebo (outcome 50% reduction in Hamilton Anxiety Scale score; 19/31 [61%] with abecarnil v 8/26 [31%] with placebo; RR 1.99, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.78). It found no significant difference in symptoms between higher doses of abecarnil and placebo. Results were not calculated by intention to treat (12/34 [35%] people withdrew with abecarnil 15–30 mg/day v 4/35 [11%] with abecarnil 7.5–15 mg/day v 1/32 [3%] with abecarnil 3–9 mg/day v 2/28 [7%] with placebo).[48] The second RCT (310 people) compared three interventions: abecarnil 7.5–17.5 mg daily, diazepam 15–35 mg daily, and placebo.[32] It found no significant difference between abecarnil and placebo or diazepam in the proportion of people with moderate improvement on the Clinical Global Impression scores at 6 weeks (AR for moderate improvement: 62% with abecarnil v 73% with diazepam v 56% with placebo; reported as non-significant; P values not reported).[32]
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HarmsThe first RCT found that abecarnil 3–9 mg daily was associated with fatigue (4/32 [13%] with abecarnil v 0/28 [0%] with placebo), equilibrium loss (2/32 [6%] with abecarnil v 0/28 [0%] with placebo), and drowsiness (10/32 [31%] with abecarnil v 4/28 [14%] with placebo). Higher doses were associated with more adverse effects (62% of people taking abecarnil 15–30 mg experienced at least 1 adverse effect v 51% of people taking abecarnil 7.5–15 mg v 22% with abecarnil 3–9 mg v 21% with placebo).[48]
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CommentNone.
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A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Abecarnil and Diazepam in the Treatment of Patients With Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Articles
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 20(1):12-18, February 2000.
Rickels, Karl MD *; DeMartinis, Nicholas MD *; Aufdembrinke, Bernd PhD +Abstract:
In a multicenter, double-blind trial, 310 patients who had received a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder were treated for 6 weeks with either abecarnil, diazepam, or placebo at mean daily doses of 12 mg of abecarnil or 22 mg of diazepam administered three times daily. Patients who were improved at 6 weeks could volunteer to continue double-blind treatment for a total of 24 weeks. The maintenance treatment phase allowed the comparison of taper results for the three treatments at several study periods (0-6 weeks, 7-12 weeks, and more than 12 weeks). Slightly more diazepam (77%) and placebo (75%) patients completed the 6-week study than abecarnil patients (66%). At intake and baseline, after a 1-week placebo washout, the patient was required to have a Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety score of >=20. Major adverse events for both abecarnil and diazepam were drowsiness, dizziness, fatigue, and coordination difficulties. Clinical improvement data showed that both abecarnil and diazepam produced statistically significantly more symptom relief than did placebo after 1 week of treatment. At 6 weeks treatment (using last observation carried forward analysis), however, only diazepam still differed significantly (p < 0.01) from placebo. High placebo response (56% moderate to marked global improvement) at 6 weeks, as well as a slightly lower nonsignificant improvement rate observed with abecarnil, a partial [gamma]-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist, when compared with diazepam, a full GABA agonist, most likely contributed to our findings. Finally, taper results showed that only diazepam and not abecarnil caused the presence of temporary discontinuation symptoms, but only in patients who had been treated for at least 12 weeks.(C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
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I don't think it is on any current agenda from the small trials.
poster:yxibow
thread:699847
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061028/msgs/699969.html