Objective: Efforts to promote the cessation of harmful alcohol use are hindered by the affective and physiological components of alcohol withdrawal (AW), which can include life-threatening seizures. Although previous studies of AW and relapse have highlighted the critical importance of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) subunit GluN2B and the detrimental role of stress, little is known a...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of repeated 10-mg oral doses of zolpidem on diurnal and nocturnal respiratory function, as well as on diurnal vigilance and physical performance in COPD patients with disordered sleep. DESIGN Prospective single-blind placebo-controlled clinical study. SETTING Outpatients of a respiratory medicine department. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with stable C...

OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and safety of NSF-3, a polyherbal sedative-hypnotic (containing standardized extracts of Valeriana officinalis, Passiflora incarnate and Humulus lupulus), in comparison to zolpidem in primary insomnia. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was designed as a parallel group, double- blind, randomized, controlled trial and registered with Clinical Trials Regis...

As several sedative-hypnotics are distributed illegally and are available domestically through media like the internet, their abuse is becoming a serious social problem. In the present study, four legal cases involving abuse of diazepam, midazolam, and/or zolpidem were proved by hair analysis using a simultaneous quantification method for the determination of diazepam (and its metabolites), lor...

OBJECTIVE Recently, metabolomics studies have suggested that the neurotransmitter γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) may modulate C. difficile infection (CDI) pathogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the association between GABA-modulating pharmaceuticals and CDI development. METHODS In July-December 2013, we performed a matched, retrospective case-control study in Skåne county, Sweden, t...

Sedatives target just a handful of receptors and ion channels. But we have no satisfying explanation for how activating these receptors produces sedation. In particular, do sedatives act at restricted brain locations and circuitries or more widely? Two prominent sedative drugs in clinical use are zolpidem, a GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulator, and dexmedetomidine (DEX), a selective α2...