Suriclone and diazepam in the treatment of neurotic anxiety

Suriclone is a new anxiolytic drug belonging to the family of cyclopyrrolones. Although chemically entirely different from the benzodiazepines, it acts as a benzodiazepine agonist with very high affinity for the benzodiazepine receptors. In the present cross-over study, 33 out-patients with a diagnosis of neurotic anxiety were treated with suriclone (mean dose 2 mg/day) and diazepam (25 mg/day) in two 6-week periods. Both drugs had a significant anxiolytic effect, but diazepam appeared to have a better effect within the first 2 weeks of treatment, while no significant difference was seen after treatment for 6 weeks. Suriclone and diazepam had a different side effect profile: suriclone produced mainly dizziness, while diazepam caused sedation. This may reflect the fact that suriclone and benzodiazepines bind to distinct sites or different allosteric conformations of the benzodiazepine receptors.