The Journal of clinical psychiatry
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Anxiety disorders, as a group, are among the most common mental health conditions and frequently cause significant functional impairment. Both psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic techniques are recognized to be effective management strategies. This review provides a discussion of the major classes of psychotropic medications investigated in clinical trials of the following anxiety disorders: panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. ⋯ Evidence for other agents, including anticonvulsants and atypical antipsychotics, suggests that they may have an adjunctive role to antidepressants in cases of treatment resistance, while azapirones have been used effectively for generalized anxiety disorder, and a substantial body of evidence supports benzodiazepine use in panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Despite notable advances, many patients with anxiety disorders fail to adequately respond to existing pharmacologic treatments. Increased research attention should be focused on systematizing pharmacologic and combined pharmacologic-psychosocial strategies to address treatment resistance and developing novel treatments for anxiety disorders.