Tinnitus: The Sound of Stress?

Background: Emotional stress is frequently associated with otologic symptoms as tinnitus and dizziness. Stress can contribute to the beginning or worsening of tinnitus.

Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the presence of stress symptoms in patients with chronic, subjective tinnitus, and correlate its presence to annoyance associated with tinnitus.

Bilateral Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex rTMS for Tinnitus Treatment: A Successful Case.

We present a successful tinnitus treatment case with intensity and distress reduction in a patient subjected to bilateral 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC). Subjective tinnitus is the perception of sound in the ears or head when no corresponding external stimulus exists. Approximately 1%-2% of the population report severe tinnitus with daily life impairment.

The panic disorder respiratory ratio: a dimensional approach to the respiratory subtype.

Objective: The respiratory ratio is a dimensional construct of the respiratory subtype of panic disorder (PD). The respiratory subtype has been correlated with an increased sensitivity to CO₂ inhalation, positive family history of PD and low comorbidity with depression. The objective of our study was to determine whether the respiratory ratio is correlated with CO₂-induced panic attacks and other clinical and demographic features.

Efficacy of a specific model for cognitive-behavioral therapy among panic disorder patients with agoraphobia: a randomized clinical trial.

Context And Objective: Cognitive-behavioral therapy is frequently indicated for panic disorder. The aim here was to evaluate the efficacy of a model for cognitive-behavioral therapy for treating panic disorder with agoraphobia.

Design And Setting: Randomized clinical trial at Instituto de Psiquiatria da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

Imipramine for vestibular dysfunction in panic disorder: a prospective case series.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of imipramine on the treatment of comorbid chronic dizziness and panic disorder.

Method: Nine patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia associated with chronic dizziness underwent otoneurological screening and were treated with a 3-months course of imipramine. Anxiety levels were measured with the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), dizziness levels were evaluated using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), and panic severity and treatment outcome were assessed with the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI).

Dizziness associated with panic disorder and agoraphobia: case report and literature review.

Dizziness is one of the most frequent complaints in both primary and specialized medical care facilities. Many dizzy patients, without a known organic cause, considered as having idiopathic dizziness, may have a psychiatric disorder. Besides, even organic dizziness may cause or exacerbate latent psychiatric alterations.

[Neuroanatomy of panic disorder].

Objectives: Animal model studies may allow greater elucidation of the cerebral circuits involved in the genesis of panic disorder (PD), but these studies have not yet been fully analyzed.

Methods: The authors review recent literature on the neurobiology and neuroanatomy of PD.

Results: In this update, the authors present a revision of data that demonstrates the existence of a "fear network", which has as its main point the central nucleus of the amygdale and includes the hypothalamus, the thalamus, the hippocampus, the periaqueductal gray region, the locus ceruleus and other brainstem structures.

Therapeutic response to benzodiazepine in panic disorder subtypes.

Context: This study makes a comparison between two subtypes of panic disorder regarding the clinical efficacy of clonazepam, a benzodiazepine.

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of clonazepam in a fixed dosage (2 mg/day), compared to placebo, in the treatment of panic disorder patients and to verify whether there are any differences in the responses to clonazepam between panic disorder patients with the respiratory and non-respiratory subtypes.

Type Of Study: Randomized study with clonazepam and placebo.