Distinct panicogenic activity of sodium lactate and cholecystokinin tetrapeptide in patients with panic disorder

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Cholecystokinin (CCK).

The validity of experimentally induced panic attacks as a model to study the pathophysiology of panic disorder has been questioned.

Unspecific, unpleasant and aversive effects as well as specific patterns of psychovegetative symptoms pointing to different subtypes of panic disorder patients have been observed.

Who Took Part

The study group was 25 patients.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled.

Because people in this Cholecystokinin (CCK) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Blinding on both sides kept the patients and researchers unaware of who received Cholecystokinin (CCK).

Some patients received a placebo instead of Cholecystokinin (CCK), giving a reference point.

Psychophysiological changes were measured using the Acute Panic Inventory (API) and visual analogue scales for anxiety and arousal.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Case-Control Studies, Panic Disorder, Sodium Lactate and Tetragastrin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Cholecystokinin (CCK) in 25 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Its findings take up roughly 4 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2012 (Current pharmaceutical design), a journal based in United Arab Emirates.

More context: the Cholecystokinin (CCK) compound page, all human trials.