Specific Phobias
While exposure therapies for specific phobias are effective, they often fail because of premature treatment dropouts and poor maintenance of therapeutic gains over time. To help navigate the challenges of treating specific phobias, Protheragen provides full-scope support services to help optimize your workflow from drug candidate development to market release.
Introduction to Specific Phobias
Specific phobias are a type of anxiety disorder marked by intense and persistent fear of particular stimuli, like certain animals, heights, or blood. Such conditions induce acute anxiety responses, avoidance behavior, and substantial disruption of one's daily functioning. These disorders are characterized by abnormal fear circuitry, including increased amygdala activity and weakened control from the prefrontal cortex, often stemming from genetic predispositions and dysfunctional learning processes.
Fig.1 A proposed integrated developmental model of BII-specific phobia. (Oar E L, et al., 2015)
Pathogenesis of Specific Phobias
Specific phobias stem largely from an overactive amygdala-initiated fear response, insufficient prefrontal cortical control, and disrupted neurotransmitter systems such as GABA and serotonin. This is also heightened by genetic factors and maladaptive learning experiences that strengthen the formation of fear memories and extinction resistance.
Therapeutic Development for Specific Phobias
| Drug Name | Mechanism of Action | Targets | Research Phase |
| Venlafaxine | Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI); increases synaptic concentrations of serotonin and norepinephrine | Serotonin transporter (SERT), Norepinephrine transporter (NET) | Approved |
| Paroxetine | Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI); potentiates serotonergic neurotransmission | Serotonin transporter (SERT) | Approved |
| Sertraline | Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI); enhances serotonergic activity and modulates downstream signaling | Serotonin transporter (SERT) | Approved |
Disclaimer: Protheragen focuses on providing preclinical research services. This table is for information exchange purposes only. This table is not a treatment plan recommendation. For guidance on treatment options, please visit a regular hospital.
Our Services
As a preclinical research service provider for specific phobias, Protheragen provides end-to-end diagnostic and therapeutic development solutions. We excel in building physiologically relevant models, including in vitro models, animal models, and specialized blood-brain barrier (BBB) models, to enable comprehensive biomarker discovery, target validation, and CNS drug efficacy optimization.
Therapeutic Development Services
By Mechanism of Action
Disease Model Development Services
In Vitro Model Development
- Conditioned Foot Shock Social Fear Model
- Predator Exposure Model
- Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Model
- Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) Model
- Approaching Shadow Model
- Other Models
Protheragen is steadfastly dedicated to meticulously validating and optimizing therapies for specific phobias through a thorough series of pharmacodynamics (PD), pharmacokinetics (PK) and toxicology studies. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us for more details and quotation information of related services.
Reference
- Oar E L, Farrell L J, Ollendick T H. One session treatment for specific phobias: An adaptation for paediatric blood–injection–injury phobia in youth[J]. Clinical child and family psychology review, 2015, 18(4): 370-394.