Imipramine for vestibular dysfunction in panic disorder: a prospective case series

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of imipramine on the treatment of comorbid chronic dizziness and panic disorder. METHOD: Nine patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia associated with chronic dizziness underwent otoneurological screening and were treated with a 3-months course of imipramine. Anxiety levels were measured with the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), dizziness levels were evaluated using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), and panic severity and treatment outcome were assessed with the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI). RESULTS: At the baseline 33.3% (n=3) had a bilateral peripheral deficit vestibulopathy, the mean scores for HAM-A were 27.2±10.4, for DHI were 51.7±22.7, and for CGI-S were 4.8±0.9. All patients had a significant reduction in their HAM-A (11.1±5.5, p=0.008), DHI (11.5±8.1, p=0.008) and CGI-I (1.8±0.7, p=0.011) levels after 3-months imipramine treatment (mean=72.2±23.2 mg/day). CONCLUSION: This study found a decrease in anxiety levels and in the impact of dizziness in the patients' quality of life after a 3-months treatment course with imipramine

Review of Remediation Approaches Implemented in Radioactively Contaminated Areas

The chapter aims to summarize different remediation approaches of radionuclide pollutants in water and soil media carried out after decommissioning of nuclear installations worldwide. The attention was focused on different methods of remediation, e.g. natural attenuation, bioremediation, excavating and removing contaminated soil and in situ treatments. The results of radiological assessments of the influence of nuclear cycle facilities in the environment using different modelling approach of the radionuclides transport through the environmental medium are adopted as a useful tool in decision making process applied in remediation of contaminated areas. The current trend in development strategy to support the environmental decision systems for optimization of remediation actions is to use databases on environmental and managerial parameters and radioecological models for the prediction of the effectiveness of remediation measures