Psychotropic agents benzodiazepines

Nomura K, Nakao M, Sato M et al. (2007) The long-term prescription of benzodiazepines, psychotropic agents, to the elderly at a university hospital in Japan. Tohoku J Exp Med 212(3) 239-246... 

Most of the research and results have been focused on the effects of drug therapy on the disorders induced by alcohol, and by opiates abuse. For all drugs, the first objective is to wean the patients from the drug, treating or preventing the effects of withdrawal for those drugs which cause physical dependence (alcohol, nicotine, opiates, caffeine, certain psychotropic agents such as benzodiazepines, possibly antidepressants). The second phase is the prevention of recurrence or relapse, which relies on a com-... 

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are commonly prescribed in the psychiatric practice to treat anxiety, insomnia, and unpleasant side effects associated with other psychotropic agents. While early case-control studies found that maternal BZD exposure increased the risk of cleft lip and cleft palate, a recent meta-analysis (Dolovich et ah, 1998) examining pooled data from cohort studies published between 1966 and 1998 found no association between antenatal BZD exposure and oral cleft or other major malformations. However, when examining case-control studies published during this period, the authors did find a small, but significant, odds ratio of... 

Gastric acidity will also affect the absorption of medication. An acidic environment increases the absorption of weak acids, whereas the absorption of weak bases is facilitated by a less acidic environment. Many psychotropic agents such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs] and benzodiazepines are weak bases. Older studies of gastric acid secretion found that women have approximately 33%-40% lower basal gastric acid secretion than do men [Yonkers and Hamilton 1995]. Gastric acid secretion may be further decreased in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (Booth et al. 1957]. 

In summary, these studies indicate that synthetic kavalactones and kava extract preparations alike are effective in managing anxiety disorders and anxiety symptomatology in a wide array of individuals. Kava was found to be as effective as the benzodiazepines but without their adverse effects. Further, the few adverse effects associated with kava were minor and transient in nature. However, the database on the clinical effects of kava by itself, and in comparison to and together with other psychotropic agents, is currently very small. This is an area ripe for further well-controlled, multi[Pg.149]

The initial clinical review should include a search for known consequences of poisoning, which include impaired consciousness with flacddity (benzodiazepines, alcohol, trichloroethanol) or with hypertonia (tricyclic antidepressants, antimuscaiinic agents), hypotension, shock, cardiac arrhythmia, evidence of convulsions, behavioural disturbances (psychotropic drugs), hypothermia, aspiration pneumonia and cutaneous blisters, burns in the mouth (corrosives). 

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