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Drugs aims to ease teens' anxietyReport shows Luvox effective for young people's anxiety disorders
(CNN) -- Young people have to plenty to worry about, whether it's getting good grades, finding a date or resolving messy family situations. But some worry more than normal, living with anxiety disorders that seriously disrupt their day-to-day lives. There's fresh hope for teen-agers with these conditions, according to a study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine. The report said the drug fluvoxamine, sold under the brand name Luvox and used to treat adults with anxiety disorders, works well in relieving the same conditions in teens and children. Researchers at the National Institutes for Health followed 128 young people, ages 6 to 17, who had been diagnosed with various anxiety disorders, such as social phobia and separation anxiety. Half of the subjects received Luvox, while the other half received a placebo -- a harmless, but ineffective pill.
The study said 76 percent of the subjects given Luvox showed significantly less anxiety, compared with 29 percent of those taking the placebo. All the subjects were first given psychotherapy, but it was found to be helpful in only three percent of the cases. Common teen conditionExperts say anxiety disorders, which affect about 10 percent of adults, may be one of the most common problems affecting young people today. While some anxiety is beneficial, leading people to be cautious in dangerous or difficult situations, the emotion can become overwhelming and life-altering for those with anxiety disorders. Condition types include panic disorder (characterized by sudden feelings of terror); phobias (irrational fears of specific things, social situations or future panic attacks); or generalized anxiety disorders (habitual and excessive worry without a specific cause). Young people with anxiety -- whether it's fear of getting on a school bus or worrying about what college to go to -- tend to grow up to become adults with the same condition. And experts say they are six times more likely to develop severe depression or other psychiatric illnesses. As in the NIH study, young subjects traditionally are given psychological therapy before they receive drugs. Even with the impressive NIH results, Dr. Joseph Coyle, one of the report's researchers and a Harvard Medical School faculty member, cautioned against prescribing psychiatric drugs, like Luvox, to young people. "They nonetheless raise some very important questions about the use of psychotropic medications in children," Coyle wrote in a New England Journal of Medicine editorial. Luvox lone drug for youngFluvoxamine belongs to a class of drugs called serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs, along with other medications like Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil. "Fluvoxamine is one of a number of drugs that regulates serotonin," said Dr. Laurance Greenhill of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and one of the NIH study's primary researchers. "Serotonin is a special chemical in the brain that regulates mood, sleep, eating and appetite." The body chemical serotonin is instrumental in determining a person's "state of mind," including their sense of anxiety. But Luvox, like the other SSRIs, was designed to treat adults. Currently, Luvox is the only one approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in young people. Many doctors, even those who commonly give Luvox to young patients, are slow to call it the ultimate solution for those with anxiety disorders. "My goal is always that the medication be a stepping stone to helping this child do well later on in his life," said Dr. Suvrat Bhargave, who prescribes Luvox in her practice. "Therefore, the medications tend to be temporary."
CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Reuters contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: Anti-depressant counters hot flashes from RELATED SITES: Internet Mental Health: Fluvoxamine | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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