| A challenge to diagnose
One in every eight Americans ages 18 to 54 suffers from an anxiety disorder. This totals over 19,000,000 people, making it the most common psychiatric condition in the U.S. Anxiety Disorder is actually comprised of seven different types of disorders (Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Disorder, Social Phobia, Agoraphobia and Specific Phobias) and is often co-occurring with other disorders such as depression, making it a very difficult disorder to properly diagnose and treat without diagnostic assistance. Anxiety sufferers see an average of 5 physicians before being successfully diagnosed and treated.
Proper diagnosis leads to more effective treatment
The various types of anxiety disorders appear as brain dysfunction in different parts of the brain systems. By identifying these various dysfunctions as well as the presence or absence of other dysfunctions such as depression that may be complicating the condition, Brain SPECT Imaging can help identify the correct offending condition. This empowers physicians to more effectively correlate a patient's behavioral problems with the identified condition and create an effective treatment plan that can be more readily accepted by the patient. |
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