Benzodiazepines causing

Clinical experiments such as that conducted by George and Dundee (1977) allow the following interpretation intravenous (and, similarly, high oral) doses of benzodiazepines cause sleepiness and eventually induce sleep. Despite being sleepy immediately after the injection, the patients were able to perceive and correctly name pictures shown to them before full anesthesia, but they had only a limited ability to remember the pictures later, once the effect of the substance had... 

Poser W, Poser S, Roscher D, et al. Do benzodiazepines cause cerebral atrophy [Letter], Lancet 1983 1 715. 

Benzodiazepines are also known as minor tranquilizers. Not as potent or dangerous as barbiturates, the benzodiazepines do find use as antianxiety drugs because of their safety and efficacy. In higher doses they will also induce sleep. All benzodiazepines cause a dose-... 

In addition, some benzodiazepines cause dizziness, confusion, clumsiness and falling, and memory loss when the drug levels in the body are at their highest. This can be a problem if you are awakened in the middle of the night by a fire alarm, a crying baby that needs to be fed, or some other reason. Also, there are potential serious interactions of benzodiazepines with alcohol—if a person drinks alcohol... 

Long half-life benzodiazepines cause day-time sedation. Dose-related anterograde amnesia. 

In horses, diazepam is distributed widely to the tissues and metabolized extensively the values quoted for elimination half-life range from 3 to 22 h (Muir et al 1982). High doses of benzodiazepines cause muscle weakness, facial and neck muscle fasciculations, ataxia and recumbency. In neonatal foals, the i.v. administration of benzodiazepines can cause respiratory depression or arrest, through accumulation (Norman et al 1997), so resuscitation equipment should be available and repeated doses should be administered with extreme care. 

Benzodiazepines cause a certain amount of amnesia. More than 2.5 mg of sublingual lorazepam can produce partial amnesia that lasts for more than 10 hours. Midazolam produces short-term but deep amnesia that makes the patient forget any pain he or she may have felt in the course of the treatment. 

Dantrolene has a direct action on skeletal muscle to cause relaxation baclofen inhibits transmission at the spinal cord by acting on inhibitory presynaptic gamma-aminobutyric acid B (GABAb) receptors benzodiazepines cause muscle relaxation by some central action and tizanidine is an a2 adrenoreceptor agonist presumably with a central action. 

Benzodiazepine abuse is different from other substance abuse disorders (opiates, amphetamines, and nicotine) because benzodiazepines cause much less euphoria and do not activate the classic reward systems that are activated with other substances (mainly the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic projections). In fact, most people do not find the subjective effects of benzodiazepines pleasant beyond their therapeutic anxiolytic or sleep-inducing effects. Therefore, abuse of benzodiazepines is usually secondary to other substance-abuse disorders, with the benzodiazepine being taken for relief from symptoms induced by the use of another drug. As potential drugs of abuse, short-acting benzodiazepines seem to be preferred among addicts because of the rapidity of their onset of action (aiprazoiam, fiunitrazepam, and iorazepam). 

A water-soluble phosphine derivative of diazepam allows for more convenient parenteral tranquilizer therapy and avoids some complications due to blood pressure lowering caused by the propylene glycol medium otherwise required for administration. Fosazepam (82) is prepared from benzodiazepine by sodium hydride-mediated alkylation with chioromethyldimethyl phosphine... 

A medication that causes induction of sleep. The majority of currently available hypnotics (for example benzodiazepine receptor agonists) act via potentiating the brain s inhibitory GABAergic systems, in turn reducing the activity of arousal (i.e. wake promoting) neurotransmitter systems. 

BENZODIAZEPINES Carbamazepine may cause aplastic anemia and agranulocytosis. During treatment blood studies are performed frequently If evidence of bone marrow depression is obtained (eg, the patient s platelet... 

However, lorazepam and oxazepam are relatively safe for older adults when given in normal dosages. Buspirone (BuSpar) also is a safe choice for older adults with anxiety because it does not cause excessive sedation, and the risk of falling is not as great. Before bus-pirone therapy is begun, benzodiazepines and sedatives and hypnotics are gradually withdrawn. Buspirone, unlike most of the benzodiazepines, must be taken regularly and is not effective on an as-needed basis. 

Although rare, benzodiazepine toxicity may occur from an overdose of the drug. Benzodiazepine toxicity causes sedation, respiratory depression, and coma. Flumazenil (Romazicon) is an antidote (antagonist) for benzodiazepine toxicity and acts to reverse die sedation, respiratory depression, and coma within 6 to 10 minutes after intravenous administration. The dosage is individualized based on the patient s response, widi most patients responding to doses of 0.6 to 1 mg. However, die drug s action is short, and additional doses may be needed. Adverse reactions of flumazenil include agitation, confusion, seizures, and in some cases, symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal. Adverse reactions of flumazenil related to the symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal are relieved by die administration of die benzodiazepine. 

Benzodiazepines are excreted more slowly in older adults causing a prolonged drug effect. The drugs may accumulate in the blood, resulting in an increase in adverse reactions or toxicity. For this reason, the initial dose should be small, and the nurse should increase dosages gradually until a therapeutic response is obtained. 

The undisputed efficacy of benzodiazepines in relief of anxiety led to the question of whether this disorder could arise from abnormal concentrations in the brain of an endogenous ligand or a malfunction of the benzodiazepine/GABA receptor system. An important study, aimed at distinguishing between these possibilities, has been carried out in humans (Nutt et al. 1990) and was based on the premise that anxiety could be caused by either ... 

If possible, discontinue any benzodiazepines, as they may cause paradoxical agitation and delirium. Evaluate for reversible etiologies... 

Matricaria recutita, known as German chamomile, is also purported to have antispasmodic properties. It is taken most often as a tea up to four times a day. Benzodiazepine, alcohol, and warfarin users should be cautioned against taking this product because it can cause drowsiness, and it contains coumarin derivatives.20... 

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