Comment on the London/Toronto Study of Alprazolam and Exposure in Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

Abstract

The study reported by Marks et al is of considerable importance, since it is the largest clinical trial to date comparing the combination of a benzodiazepine and behaviour therapy to either component alone, and the first combined treatment trial to use alprazolam as the pharmacological agent. It was an ambitious project that was apparently well run, and the findings should be of wide interest. However, the potential value of the study is limited by the method, the patient sample, and the analysis and presentation of the data.