Radio electric treatment vs. Es-Citalopram in the treatment of panic disorders associated with major depression: an open-label, naturalistic study

Abstract

Simultaneous coexistence of anxiety with depressive disorders is probably one of the major current problems in Medicine. The pharmacological approach for Panic Disorder and Major Depression includes "high-powered" benzodiazepines for the rapid, but transitory relief of same symptoms and especially antidepressant compounds. Recently physical-instrumental approaches have been tested for the treatment of these complex diseases, like Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES), Trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), and Radio Electric Asymmetric Treatment (REAC). The REAC apparatus was designed to deliver an alternate current of several hundred picoamperes for a time span of 0.5 seconds by means of a small metallic probe directly connected to the properly fabricated electronic circuit in an AC/RF generator with frequency of 2.4, 5.8 or 10.5 GHz and power of 20 mW. Compared the efficacy of REAC and Es-Citalopram in the treatment of simultaneous coexistence of Panic Disorder with Major Depression in 9-weeks open label naturalistic study. After the 1st week, patients treated with REAC therapy showed a significant relief of depressive symptoms compared with Es-Citalopram. For Panic Disorder, REAC treatment had more effective results than the drug especially after the 3rd week of observation. The REAC treatment obtained better results during the entire study, and its high safety and tolerability profile has been confirmed.