Background: In the present study, we evaluated whether patients with panic disorder (PD) in complete remission were more alexithymic than normal controls. Methods: Fifty-two PD patients (both during the acute phase of the disorder and after at least 2 months of complete remission) and 52 age- and sex-matched normal subjects completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and the Hamilton Rating Scales for Anxiety (Ham-A) and for Depression. Results: A higher rate of alexithymia was found in PD patients than in controls (3.8%) both during the acute phase (44.2%; p < 0.001) and after remission of the disorder (21.2%; p = 0.008). During remission, PD patients showed: (1) Ham-A scores significantly higher than controls (p < 0.001); (2) only an elevation of the ‘difficulty in identifying feeling’ (DIF) dimension of alexithymia, and (3) a positive relationship between Ham-A scores and DIF levels (p < 0.001). Conclusion: After remission of panic attacks, phobic avoidance and anticipatory anxiety, PD patients are more alexithymic (even though the levels of alexithymia decreased after the resolution of the acute phase of PD) and anxious than controls. This finding might be explained by an overlap between cognitive aspects of PD and the DIF dimension of alexithymia, since alexithymic and anxious levels are positively related.

Conclusions: The group PS results characterized by male patients, late onset, higher level of greater in anxious symptomatology, lower scolarity and intellectual disorders: memory and concetration deficit, scores significatively higher in the single subscales of somatization, obsessive-compulsive and psychotic at SCL-90. The subtype with psichotic symptoms presents higher comorbidity for general medical condition, statistically significant for neurologic and severity in disability. Regarding temperamental dimensions, there aren't differences statistically significant.

patients receiving 1 mg/day of risperidone fhan placebo. On the Clinical Global Impressions scale, a rating of much or very much improved was received by 26% of placebo patients and 30%, 45%, and 40% of the risperidone patients. Differences were significant between placebo and risperidone at 1.0 mg/day (p

450s Posters, Tuesday, 3 I October 2000 stressors was in better correlation with subsequent posttraumatic pathology than it was exposure alone. Conclusion:Our results have shown that our Scale of Exposure and Distress could contribute to a better evaluation of the interrelations between intensity, frequency and subjective reactions to stressors and posttraumatic pathology in population exposed to ,different categories of traumatic experiences.

Conclusions: The group PS results characterized by male patients, late onset, higher level of greater in anxious symptomatology, lower scolarity and intellectual disorders: memory and concetration deficit, scores significatively higher in the single subscales of somatization, obsessive-compulsive and psychotic at SCL-90. The subtype with psichotic symptoms presents higher comorbidity for general medical condition, statistically significant for neurologic and severity in disability. Regarding temperamental dimensions, there aren't differences statistically significant.