RELEVANCE AND PROSPECTS OF THE SEARCH FOR DRUGS WITH ANXIOLYTIC ACTIVITY

Abstract

The most common category of mental illnesses is anxiety disorders, which have significant negative effects on both individuals and society as a whole. The increasing medical need to enhance the efficacy and adverse effect profile of current medications is driving the quest for new pharmacological therapies for these illnesses. Numerous novel compounds have advanced into clinical trials as a result of the massive amount of data produced by anxiolytic drug discovery investigations. These attempts have, however, had a dismal therapeutic consequence because promising outcomes with new medicines in rat research have rarely transferred into human effectiveness. Here, we examine the key findings from preclinical research over the previous half-century looking for novel medications that don't target the classic anxiety-associated GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid)–benzodiazepine system. The majority of these studies have concentrated on the serotonin, neuropeptide, glutamate, and endocannabinoid systems. We point up a number of important problems that might have impeded the field's advancement and make suggestions for future improvements in anxiolytic medication research.