A placebo-controlled double-blind multicenter trial of two doses of ipsapirone versus diazepam in generalized anxiety disorder

Ipsapirone is a partial 5-HT1A, agonist which appears promising for the pharmacologic treatment of anxiety. In this four-week, double-blind, 19-center study, 249 outpatients with generalized anxiety disorder were randomized to one of four treatmentsipsapirone, 5 or 10 mg t.i.d., diazepam 5 mg t.i.d., or placebo. Both active treatments were significantly superior to placebo in reducing anxiety symptoms, although response to ipsapirone was not significant until week 2 while diazepam had a more rapid onset. Five mg t.i.d. was the optimal ipsapirone dose. At 10 mg t.i.d. adverse experiences prompted more patients to discontinue treatment. Adverse experiences that were reported significantly more often for ipsapirone than placebo included asthenia, nausea, dizziness, paresthesias and sweating. Sedation was the most common diazepam-related side effect. The results of this study when combined with others suggest that 5 mg t.i.d. of ipsapirone is an effective and well-tolerated anxiolytic without many of the risks of benzodiazepine therapy. Dosage escalation by patients is unlikely because of an increased risk of side effects.