The Place of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in the Treatment of Panic Disorder

Abstract

Panic disorder is a frequently chronic condition with extensive patterns of psychiatric comorbidity. Optimum pharmacotherapy with traditional agents is limited by side effects, long‐term tolerability, and other problems. Recent research findings support the characterization of panic disorder as an illness involving derangements of central serotonergic function. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors could become first‐line treatment of the disorder, as they seem to have fewer side effects than tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines.