A New Antidepressant That May Curb Blushing

[Guest guest]

I found this story on the newswires. It doesn't say when it will be

approved for use in Europe or elsewhere.

Take care,

Matija

Drug May Help Shy People Beat Anxiety, Firm Says

LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - An antidepressant drug is being studied to

see if it can help the very shy avoid panic attacks, anxious nausea

and blushing, a Danish pharmaceutical firm said on Monday.

Jarne Elleholn, managing director of Lundbeck, said he hoped that

year-long trials in Glasgow would show the drug was able to end the

anxiety-induced misery that at least one in 15 people suffer from at

some stage in their lives.

A six-month course that would cost about 100 pounds ($140) could help

social phobia patients to control their fear, Elleholn said.

The remedy, Escitalopram, is in the same group of drugs as the

antidepressant Prozac, which boosts the release of mood-enhancing

serotonin in the brain.

" It's broadly speaking similar to Prozac, " said consultant

psychiatrist Dr. . " It addresses an underlying

dysfunction. "

Elleholn said patients would start with a lower dosage than those

suffering from depression and gradually raise the dose.

" It's a next-generation refined version. It's somewhat more potent

than the current generation. If you can take a lower dose you get

fewer side effects, " he said.

Elleholn said the drug was not a stimulant and did not inhibit

patients' judgement.

" It's taking that unnecessary fear away so you can do normal things

again. It isn't that you're walking on a pink cloud. "

Elleholn said he expected clinical trials to be completed by mid-2002.