Beliefs, sense of control and treatment outcome in post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background: Few studies have shown that maladaptive beliefs relate to treatment outcome.

Method: In a randomized controlled study, 87 patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had exposure therapy alone or cognitive restructuring alone, or both combined, or relaxation. Independent blind assessors assessed patients at pre-, mid- and post-treatment and at follow-up; at those times patients rated cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of their disorder.

Long-term effects of alprazolam on memory: a 3.5 year follow-up of agoraphobia/panic patients.

Background: Benzodiazepines (BZs) can impair explicit memory after a single dose and also when taken repeatedly for treatment of anxiety disorders. A previous study with agoraphobia/panic patients found that the BZ alprazolam impaired memory during an 8-week treatment and residual impairments were still manifest several weeks after drug withdrawal (Curran et al. 1994).

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder by exposure and/or cognitive restructuring: a controlled study.

Background: Unanswered questions from controlled studies of posttraumatic stress disorder concern the value of cognitive restructuring alone without prolonged exposure therapy and whether its combination with prolonged exposure is enhancing.

Methods: In a controlled study, 87 patients with posttraumatic stress disorder of at least 6 months' duration were randomly assigned to have 10 sessions of 1 of 4 treatments: prolonged exposure (imaginal and live) alone; cognitive restructuring alone; combined prolonged exposure and cognitive restructuring; or relaxation without prolonged exposure or cognitive restructuring.

Results: Integrity of audiotaped treatment sessions was satisfactory when rated by an assessor unaware of the treatment assignment.

Agoraphobia and panic disorder: 3.5 years after alprazolam and/or exposure treatment.

Background: Long-term follow-ups after controlled studies of exposure therapy for agoraphobia/panic are few. Most of these studies found that improvement during treatment persists to the end of follow-up.

Methods: Out of 69 patients with panic disorder plus agoraphobia who had been in an 8-week controlled study of alprazolam and/or exposure, 31 were followed up at a mean of 3.

Alprazolam withdrawal symptoms in agoraphobia with panic disorder: observations from a controlled Anglo-Canadian study.

The study examines the effect of discontinuing alprazolam in panic disorder+agoraphobia patients. Fifty-seven alprazolam and 50 placebo agoraphobia+panic disorder patients, who had participated in an 8 week double- blind controlled study of alprazolam at average doses of 5 mg daily, were withdrawn gradually from their medication over the subsequent 8 weeks. The effects of discontinuation of medication on anxiety, panic, depression, phobia and withdrawal symptoms were examined during the taper phase and over the following 6 months.