A double-blind study was carried out in 30 female patients with generalized 
anxiety disorders associated with depressive symptoms to compare the 
effectiveness and tolerability of etizolam and alprazolam. Patients were 
allocated at random to receive one or other drug at a dosage of 0.5 mg twice 
daily for 5 weeks. Assessments were made on entry and after 3 and 5 weeks of 
treatment using the Hamilton rating scales for anxiety and for depression. The 
results showed that both drugs had marked anxiolytic and antidepressive 
activity, there being significant reductions after treatment in mean total 
rating scores compared to baseline. Although there was no statistically 
significant difference between the two drugs, there was a trend for etizolam to 
be more effective in relieving anxiety somatization symptoms. Apart from 
moderate daytime drowsiness in a few patients, both drugs were considered to be 
extremely well tolerated.