Study and course of the psychological profile in 77 patients experiencing panic disorder with agoraphobia after cognitive behaviour therapy with or without buspirone

Background: The change of psychopathological dimensions during treatment of panic disorder is attracting increasing interest. Methods: A population of subjects experiencing panic disorder with agoraphobia is evaluated with the French version of the factor structure of the Symptom Checklist 90 R (SCL 90 R). Two groups of patients are compared: a group receiving cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) combined with buspirone and a group receiving cognitive behaviour therapy combined with placebo. Results: Comparative analysis of pre- and post-test changes between both groups completing treatment showed that the combination cognitive behaviour therapy plus buspirone provided better results than those in patients who had received cognitive behaviour therapy plus placebo. This difference between treatments did not persist at the 1-year follow-up, since, while results had been effectively maintained in the CBT plus buspirone group, the CBT plus placebo group continued to improve significantly for the target dimensions of treatment. Conclusions: Psychopathological dimensions on the SCL 90 R show that combination of buspirone and cognitive behaviour therapy accelerates the behaviour modification process only in the short term.