Clobazam Alcohol

This fivefold clinical activity is possessed, to a greater or lesser extent, by all benzodiazepines in current clinical use. The properties of benzodiazepines make them ideally useful for managing anxiety (e.g. diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, lorazepam) insomnia (e.g. diazepam, temazepam, nitrazepam, loprazolam, flurazepam, lormetazepam) epilepsy (e.g. clobazam, diazepam, lorazepam) sports injuries where muscle relaxation is required (e.g. diazepam) and as premedications prior to surgery (e.g. midazolam, lorazepam). The benzodiazepines have a number of other uses, including management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (chlordiazepoxide, diazepam) and restless legs (clonazepam). Short... 

A 49-year-old woman, a chronic alcoholic who had been undergoing psychiatric treatment, was found dead at home (12). Autopsy findings were unremarkable. Further detailed analysis showed that the clobazam concentration found in post-mortem blood was 3.9 ig/ml higher than the usual target concentration (0.1-0.4 ig/ml). All the available information suggested that death had resulted from respiratory depression due to clobazam toxicity. 

Chlordiazepoxide Clobazam Anxiety disorders, management of alcohol withdrawal, anesthetic premedication... 

Benzodiazepine and related hypno-sedatives increase the CNS depressant effects of alcohol to some extent. The risks of car driving and handling other potentially dangerous machinery are increased. The risk is heightened because the patient may be unaware of being affected. Some benzodiazepines used at night for sedation are still present in appreciable amounts the next day and therefore may continue to interact. Alcohol may also increase the plasma levels of brotizolam, clobazam, diazepam, and possibly triazolam, whereas alprazolam may increase blood-alcohol levels. Alcohol has been reported to increase aggression or amnesia and/or reduce the anxiolytic effects of some benzodiazepines. 

It is very difficult to assess and compare the results of the very many studies of this interaction because of the differences between the tests, their duration, the dosages of the benzodiazepines and alcohol, whether given chronically or acutely, and a number of other variables. However, the overall picture seems to be that benzodiazepines and related drugs including diazepam, " alprazolam,bromazepam, brotizolam, chlo-rdiazepoxide, " clobazam, dipotassium clorazepate, flunitrazepam, flurazepam, loprazolam, " lorazepam, lormetazepam, medazepam, midazolam, nitrazepam, " " oxazepam, temazepam, " triazolam, and zopiclone enhance the effects of alcohol i.e. cause increased drowsiness, impaired performance and driving skills. 

Several studies have reported that alcohol increases plasma levels of diazepam and that alcohol accelerates the absorption of diazepam, but others have suggested that alcohol has no significant effect on diazepam pharmacokinetics. Plasma levels of brotizolam and clobazam may be increased by alcohol. One study reported that the plasma levels of triazolam were increased by alcohol, but other studies have found only a minimal pharmacokinetic interaction. However, an in vitro study demonstrated that alcohol inhibited the metabolism of triazolam by the cytochrome P450 isoenzyme CYP3A. Another in vitro study reported that the formation of flunitrazepam metabolites was weakly inhibited by alcohol, but a pharmacokinetic study suggested that there was no interaction. Alcohol appears to have minimal effects on the pharmacokinetics of alprazolam, and zopiclone. ... 

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