Description:
<jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>In the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia, the efficacy of pharmacological, psychological and combined treatments has been established. Unanswered questions concern the relative efficacy of such treatments.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Aims</jats:title><jats:p>To demonstrate that moclobemide and cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) are effective singly and more effective in combination.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Method</jats:title><jats:p>Fifty-five patients were randomly assigned to an eight-week treatment of: moclobemide plus CBT; moclobemide plus clinical management (‘psychological placebo’); placebo plus CBT; or placebo plus clinical management.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Comparisons between treatments revealed strong effects for CBT. Moclobemide with clinical management was not superior to placebo. The combination of moclobemide with CBT did not yield significantly better short-term results than CBT with placebo. The CBT results remained stable during a six-month follow-up, although a substantial proportion of patients treated with placebo plus CBT needed additional treatment.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>CBT was highly effective in the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia and reduced agoraphobia to levels that were comparable to those of non-clinical controls.</jats:p></jats:sec>