There is a significantly increased risk of adverse events in the elderly such as falls, diminished cognitive function and driving impairment, although the latter is not confined to the elderly. ![]() They are thus more at risk from the side-effects which include drowsiness, ataxia (staggering gait), mental confusion, impaired judgement and anterograde amnesia. Such half-lives vary between individuals, and the elderly tend to eliminate these drugs much more slowly. midazolam intermediate-acting compounds such as nitrazepam have half-lives greater than 24 hours, whereas long-acting compounds such as diazepam have half-lives greater than 48 hours. There is no clear division between anxiolytics and hypnotics, since most anxiolytics will induce sleep if taken at night and most hypnotics will sedate when taken during the day.ĭifferent benzodiazepines vary in the rate in which they are metabolised to pharmacologically active forms and particularly in their half-lives (see Table 1): short-acting drugs have a half-life of less than 24 hours e.g. Because they have a lower tendency to cause a potentially fatal CNS depression compared to earlier drugs such as barbiturates, benzodiazepines are widely used in medicine for the treatment of anxiety (anxiolytics) and insomnia (sedative/hypnotics), as well as other psychological conditions such as panic attacks and panic disorders. They act by facilitating the binding of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA at various GABA receptors throughout the CNS. ![]() ![]() ![]() diazepam, lorazepam, midazolam), suppositories.īenzodiazepines are a group of CNS depressants which induce feelings of calm (anxiolysis), drowsiness and sleep.
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