Section Review Central & Peripheral Nervous Systems: Novel anxiolytic agents - 1994 to present

The treatment of anxiety disorders remains an active area of research. Behavioural tests developed in the 1960s have been augmented by specific receptor binding assays. Selective modulation of these binding sites offers the hope that the abuse liability, sedation and ethanol interaction found with earlier drugs can be removed entirely or in part. Although most anxiolytic drug discovery continues to be centred on the neurotransmitters γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and serotonin (5-HT), research in other areas such as those involving cholecystokinin (CCK), corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) also has promise for the future. This article reviews the primary and patent literature in the anxiolytic area for 1994 to the present.