Emerging drugs for the treatment of anxiety

Abstract

Introduction Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent and disabling psychiatric disorders in the United States and worldwide. Basic research has provided critical insights into the mechanism regulating fear behavior in animals and a host of animal models have been developed in order to screen compounds for anxiolytic properties. Despite this progress, no mechanistically novel agents for the treatment of anxiety have come to market in more than two decades. Areas covered The current review will provide a critical summary of current pharmacological approaches to the treatment of anxiety and will examine the pharmacotherapeutic pipeline for treatments in development. Anxiety and related disorders considered herein include panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. The glutamate, neuropeptide and endocannabinoid systems show particular promise as future targets for novel drug development. Expert opinion In the face of an ever-growing understanding of fear related behavior, the field awaits the translation of this research into mechanistically novel treatments. Obstacles will be overcome through close collaboration between basic and clinical researchers with the goal of aligning valid endophenotypes of human anxiety disorders with improved animal models. Novel approaches are needed to move basic discoveries into new, more effective treatments for our patients.

Use of cannabidiol in anxiety and anxiety-related disorders

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The Implication of the Corticotropin Releasing Factor in Nicotine Dependence and Significance for Pharmacotherapy in Smoking Cessation

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Potential Nematode Alarm Pheromone Induces Acute Avoidance in Caenorhabditis elegans

“…Worm extract avoidance is modulated by g-aminobutyric acid and serotonin Currently there are two major classes of drugs for treating anxiety: (1) benzodiazepines that target the neurotransmitter g-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and (2) monoamine-altering drugs, which are also antidepressants (Griebel and Holmes 2013;Murrough et al 2015). The second class of drugs includes tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) that modulate the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine; monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) that modulate monoamine neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, melatonin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine; and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that modulate serotonin levels (Griebel and Holmes 2013;Murrough et al 2015).…”