Trancopal - Chlormezanone

Sanofi, W.P. Discontinuation of Trancopal (chlormezanone). www.fda. gov/Medwatch/safety/trancopa.htm, last accessed on 16th December 2003. Pharmainformation Appetitziigler. www.uibk.ac.at/c/c5/c515/info/info7-4.html, last accessed on 15th December 2002. 

Finney RD, Apps J. Unreviewed reports Trancopal (chlormezanone) and thrombocytopenia. BMJ (Clin Res Ed) 1985 290 1112. 

Since 1958, chlormezanone was marketed by Sanofi-Winthrop, under the brand name Trancopal, as a centrally acting muscle relaxant in lower back pain [22,23]. Evidence of the efficacy of chlormezanone was, however, limited and of poor quality. In comparison to other centrally acting muscle relaxants in lower back pain, there... 

Chlormezanone improves the emotional state of the patient, relieving moderate anxiety and stress. However, it has a number of side effects, and because it does not have any advantage over other anxiolytics, it is rarely used in practice. Synonyms of this drag are trancopal, alinam, flexipirin, and others. 

The discovery of the benzodiazepines (BZDs) at Hoffmann-La Roche in the late 1950s provided a more formidable arsenal for the treatment of anxiety [5]. Following the introduction of chlordiazepoxide (1, Librium ) in 1960, a large number of analogues were synthesized and developed, including diazepam (2, Valium ), lorazepam (3, Ativan ), prazepam (4, Cen-trax ), oxazepam (5, Serax ), chlorazepate (5a,Tranxene ), and alprazolam (6, Xanax ). Although other structural classes of compounds for treatment of anxiety have been discovered such as hydroxyzine (7, Atarax ), buspirone (8, Buspar ), and chlormezanone (9, Trancopal ), the prescriptions written for (l)-(7) over the years since their introduction equal or exceed that for any disorder [4, 6], presumably because of their effectiveness and rapid onset of action [7],... 

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