A double-blind comparison of the anxiolytic activity of two benzodiazepines, metaclazepam and bromazepam, in anxiety neurosis

A double-blind controlled trial was carried out in 50 patients with anxiety neuroses to compare the effectiveness of metaclazepam, a recently developed benzodiazepine with anxiolytic activity, and bromazepam. Patients were allocated at random to receive treatment for 13 days with either 15 mg metaclazepam or 4 mg bromazepam per day, in 2 divided doses. The patients' anxiety status was assessed on entry and after 7 and 13 days of treatment by the physician, using the Hamilton multi-factorial rating scale, and by the patients, using a self-assessment rating scale. Both drugs produced a highly significant reduction in mean total scores, improvement being evident by the Day 7 assessment. Correlation between scores on the two scales was significant at all time points. Metaclazepam, however, was rated as producing a significantly greater improvement from baseline than with bromazepam on the self-rating scale.