
The administration of buspirone to a patient taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) may pose a hazard. There have been reports of the occurrence of elevated blood pressure when buspirone has been added to a regimen including an MAOI. Therefore, it is recommended that buspirone not be used concomitantly with an MAOI. Because buspirone has no established antipsychotic activity, it should not be employed in lieu of appropriate antipsychotic treatment.
There is currently no manufacturer warning information available for this drug.
Buspirone hydrochloride tablets are indicated for the management of anxiety disorders or the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety or tension associated with the stress of everyday life usually does not require treatment with an anxiolytic.
The efficacy of buspirone has been demonstrated in controlled clinical trials of outpatients whose diagnosis roughly corresponds to Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Many of the patients enrolled in these studies also had coexisting depressive symptoms and buspirone relieved anxiety in the presence of these coexisting depressive symptoms. The patients evaluated in these studies had experienced symptoms for periods of 1 month to over 1 year prior to the study, with an average symptom duration of 6 months. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (300.02) is described in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, lll1 as follows:
Generalized, persistent anxiety (of at least 1 month continual duration), manifested by symptoms from three of the four following categories:
1.
Motor tension: shakiness, jitteriness, jumpiness, trembling, tension, muscle aches, fatigability, inability to relax, eyelid twitch, furrowed brow, strained face, fidgeting, restlessness, easy startle.
2.
Autonomic hyperactivity: sweating, heart pounding or racing, cold, clammy hands, dry mouth, dizziness, lightheadedness, paresthesias (tingling in hands or feet), upset stomach, hot or cold spells, frequent urination, diarrhea, discomfort in the pit of the stomach, lump in the throat, flushing, pallor, high resting pulse and respiration rate.
3.
Apprehensive expectation: anxiety, worry, fear, rumination, and anticipation of misfortune to self or others.
4.
Vigilance and scanning: hyperattentiveness resulting in distractibility, difficulty in concentrating, insomnia, feeling “on edge”, irritability, impatience.
The above symptoms would not be due to another mental disorder, such as a depressive disorder or schizophrenia. However, mild depressive symptoms are common in GAD.
The effectiveness of buspirone in long-term use, that is, for more than 3 to 4 weeks, has not been demonstrated in controlled trials. There is no body of evidence available that systematically addresses the appropriate duration of treatment for GAD. However, in a study of long-term use, 264 patients were treated with buspirone for 1 year without ill effect. Therefore, the physician who elects to use buspirone for extended periods should periodically reassess the usefulness of the drug for the individual patient.
Buspirone hydrochloride is an antianxiety agent that is not chemically or pharmacologically related to the benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or other sedative/anxiolytic drugs.
Buspirone hydrochloride is a white crystalline, water soluble compound with a molecular weight of 422.0. Chemically, buspirone hydrochloride is 8-[4-[4-(2-pyrimidinyl)-1-piperazinyl]-butyl]-8-azaspiro[4.5]decane-7,9- dione monohydrochloride. The empirical formula C21H31N5O2 • HCl is represented by the following structural formula:
Each tablet for oral administration containing 5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg of buspirone hydrochloride USP (equivalent to 4.6 mg, 9.1 mg, and 13.7 mg of buspirone free base respectively). The 5 mg and 10 mg tablets are scored so they can be bisected. Thus, the 5 mg tablet can also provide a 2.5 mg dose, and the 10 mg tablet can provide a 5 mg dose. The 15 mg tablet is provided in a special tablet design. This tablet is scored so it can be either bisected or trisected. Thus, a single 15 mg tablet can provide the following doses: 15 mg (entire tablet), 10 mg (two thirds of a tablet), 7.5 mg (one half of a tablet), or 5 mg (one third of a tablet). In addition, each tablet contains the following inactive ingredients: colloidal silicon dioxide, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, and sodium starch glycolate.