Buspirone is used for the short-term and long term treatment of anxiety disorders or symptoms of anxiety. It is generally less preferred than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
It has no immediate anxiolytic effects, and hence has a delayed onset of action. Its full clinical effectiveness may require 2 to 4 weeks to manifest itself. The drug has been shown to be similarly effective in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) to benzodiazepines including diazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam, and clorazepate.
Buspirone is not known to be effective in the treatment of other anxiety disorders besides GAD, although there is some limited evidence that it may be useful in the treatment of social phobia as an adjunct to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
There is some evidence that buspirone on its own may be useful in the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in women.
