None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Serotonergic antidepressants (SSRIs) are first-line treatments for social anxiety disorder [SAnD], though there is evidence of dopaminergic system dysfunction. We therefore investigated the effects of a single dose of a dopamine agonist (pramipexole) and a dopamine antagonist (sulpiride) on social anxiety symptoms in untreated and SSRI-remitted patients with SAnD, undergoing an anxiogenic challenge. Our primary hypothesis was that the social anxiety (behavioral) challenges would be more anxiogenic under the dopamine antagonist (sulpiride) condition compared with the dopamine agonist (pramipexole) condition.
Interventions
1. pramipexole single dose 0.5 mg orally
2. sulpiride single dose 400mg orally
(1. and 2. administered 1 hr after study day begins = 10am, 1 week apart, in double-blind balanced crossover design).
3. social anxiety behavioural challenge
Three hours, and 3 1/2 hrs (respectively) after the ingestion of the drug, 30 minutes apart, the participants completed the following three minute duration challenges: (i) the subject was invited to give an impromptu speech to an audience on a topic related to
1. pramipexole single dose 0.5 mg orally 2. sulpiride single dose 400mg orally (1. and 2. administered 1 hr after study day begins = 10am, 1 week apart, in double-blind balanced crossover design). 3. social anxiety behavioural challenge Three hours, and 3 1/2 hrs (respectively) after the ingestion of the drug, 30 minutes apart, the participants completed the following three minute duration challenges: (i) the subject was invited to give an impromptu speech to an audience on a topic related to work interests or hobbies (“Verbal Task”); and (ii) the investigator read aloud to the participant a script of a previous situation of intense social anxiety, as reported by the participant (“Autobiographical Script”). The order of the tasks was selected at random but kept the same for both study days. (The tasks are administered 30 minutes apart).
Sponsors
University of Bristol
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version 4 (DSM-IV) diagnosis of social anxiety disorder Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement (CGI-I) score of 1 or 2 Non-smokers
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria were neurological / other serious medical illness, other primary DSM-IV Axis I diagnoses, dopaminergic medicines in the six months preceding the enrolment, history of adverse reaction to sulpiride or pramipexole, pregnancy, lactation or inadequate contraceptive methods.
Outcome results
None listed