Hydroxyzine (Atarax) in the Relief of Tension Associated with Anxiety Neurosis and Mild Depressive States

Turle (1) in a double-blind trial using hydroxyzine found that of 18 patients admitted to a neurosis unit (7 anxiety neurosis, 1 obsessive-compulsive state, 6 depressive states and 1 involutional melancholia) only 3 patients showed signs of improvement on a dosage of 30 mg. by mouth, t.d.s. Only 1 out of 8 selected on account of tension symptoms was relieved. The other 2 improved cases were depressive cases with secondary anxiety features. He concluded that the drug was of no manifest benefit in neurotics. The serene tension-free effect reputedly produced by the drug and described by American workers was not observed.