Effect of quetiapine vs. placebo on response to two virtual public speaking exposures in individuals with social phobia.

Author(s): Donahue CB, Kushner MG, Thuras PD, Murphy TG, Van Demark JB, Adson DE

Affiliation(s): Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, USA.

Publication date & source: 2009-04, J Anxiety Disord., 23(3):362-8. Epub 2008 Dec 24.

Publication type: Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

OBJECTIVE: Clinical practice and open-label studies suggest that quetiapine (an atypical anti-psychotic) might improve symptoms for individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD). The purpose of this study was to provide a rigorous test of the acute impact of a single dose of quetiapine (25mg) on SAD symptoms. METHOD: Individuals with SAD (N=20) were exposed to a 4-min virtual reality (VR) public speaking challenge after having received quetiapine or placebo (double-blind) 1h earlier. A parallel VR challenge occurred 1 week later using a counter-balanced cross-over (within subject) design for the medication-placebo order between the two sessions. RESULT: There was no significant drug effect for quetiapine on the primary outcome measures. However, quetiapine was associated with significantly elevated heart rate and sleepiness compared with placebo. CONCLUSION: Study findings suggest that a single dose of 25mg quetiapine is not effective in alleviating SAD symptoms in individuals with fears of public speaking.