Authors
Volz HP. Kieser M.
Institution
Department of Psychiatry, Jena University, Germany.
Title
Kava-kava extract WS 1490 versus placebo in
anxiety disorders--a randomized placebo-controlled 25-week outpatient trial.
Source
Pharmacopsychiatry. 30(1):1-5, 1997 Jan.
Abstract
101 outpatients suffering from anxiety of non-psychotic origin (DSM-III-R
criteria: agoraphobia, specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and
adjustment disorder with anxiety) were included in a 25-week multicenter
randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial with WS 1490, a special
extract of kava-kava. In the main outcome
criterion, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), there was a significant
superiority of the test drug starting from week 8 on. WS 1490 was also found
to be superior with respect to the secondary outcome variables. HAMA
subscores somatic and psychic anxiety, Clinical Global Impression,
Self-Report Symptom Inventory-90 Items revised, and Adjective Mood Scale.
Adverse events were rare and distributed evenly in both groups. These results
support WS 1490 as a treatment alternative to tricyclic antidepressants and
benzodiazepines in anxiety disorders, with proven long-term efficacy and none
of the tolerance problems associated with tricyclics and benzodiazepines.