Lexapro as effective as Paxil for GAD

Data presented at the 24th annual meeting of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America in Miami, USA, revealed that Forest Laboratories' Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate) is as effective as GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil (paroxetine hydrochloride) in patients with generalized anxiety disorder but has fewer side effects.

The randomized, double-blind, flexible-dose study involved 123 patients with GAD. Following a one-week, single-blind, placebo lead-in period, subjects were randomized to receive (in a 1:1 ratio) either 10mg/day Lexapro or 20mg/day Paxil. The primary endpoint of the trial was the mean change from baseline to week 24 in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety.

Results showed that, at the end of the six-month study, both Lexapro and Paxil produced improvements in anxiety symptoms; mean changes in HAM-A scores from baseline to endpoint were -15.3 and -13.3, respectively.