background In anxiety disorders, the added effect of a combined treatment (cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) and medication) has shown to be modest. Therefore, current research focuses on possible alternatives as addition to cbt. D-cycloserine is an example of translation research in psychiatry: instead of a coincidently found medication (like penicilline), D-cycloserine was tested based on the knowledge of the neurobiology of anxiety disorders. Investigating the role of glutamate, the nmda receptor and antagonists, research focused on this partial antagonist, D-cycloserine. It might enhance memory and cognitive functioning by enhancing the acquisition and consolidation processes.
aim To provide an overview of all human clinical studies that investigated the additional effects of D-cycloserine on cbt in anxiety disorders (panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, specific phobia, social phobia).
method A literature search was performed. All human clinical studies investigating D-cycloserine in anxiety disorders were included.
results We found eight relevant studies. The results of these studies suggest that dcs is more effective in typical anxiety disorders than in ocd. An overview will be given and discussed at the conference. Also, preliminary results of two ongoing Dutch studies will be displayed: D-cycloserine addition to exposure therapy in panic disorder with agoraphobia and D-cycloserine addition to cognitive behavioral therapy in ocd.
conclusion Human research suggests that D-cycloserine addition to CBT improves the effects of this therapy. Clinical studies find a substantial increase in efficacy, especially during the first 5-6 sessions of cbt.