A recent study concludes that the antidepressant drug Zoloft (Sertraline) appears to be effective in reducing the number of panic attacks in patients with panic disorder.
* Researchers at Detroit’s Wayne State University randomized 168 patients with panic disorder to receive either sertraline or a placebo for 10 weeks to collect data.
* Found that the average number of panic attacks suffered weekly by patients treated with sertraline dropped 88%, compared to a 53% drop seen in placebo recipients. – authors further note that patients treated with sertraline showed significant improvements in measures of quality of life enjoyment and on personal assessments of the severity of their illness.
* The report notes that sertraline treatment was not associated with “jitteriness,” which is a common side-effect of older antidepressants used to treat panic disorder.