BACKGROUND Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) for their sedative and anxiolytic effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between benzodiazepine use and sleep quality in residents of RACFs. METHODS A cross-sectional study involving 383 participants was conducted in six Australian RACFs. Night-time sleep quality, da...

Benzodiazepine receptors were studied in rats with hepatic encephalopathy due to fulminant hepatic failure induced by galactosamine. [3H]-Diazepam binding studies on brain synaptic membranes of rats with mild and severe encephalopathy show a significant increase in the number of receptors in both stages of coma. [3H]Diazepam binding to synaptic membrane preparations from rats in the mild or sev...

Benzodiazepines should be prescribed on a short-term basis, but a significant proportion of patients (%) use them for more than 6 months, constituting a serious public health issue. Indeed, few strategies are effective in helping patients to discontinue long-term benzodiazepine treatments. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and the impact of a program including cognitive behavi...

The distribution and mobility of GABA/benzodiazepine receptors has been examined on living nerve cells by fluorescence digital imaging and fluorescence photobleach recovery with 2 novel fluorescent derivatives of the benzodiazepines Ro7-1986 and 1012S. These fluorescent derivatives retain their high affinity for the GABA/benzodiazepine receptor complex with Ks of 79 and 85 nM, respectively. Dig...

We describe the failure of an intravenous benzodiazepine to control non-convulsive status epilepticus occurring in six patients with the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. In one patient the benzodiazepine induced a paradoxical response with clinical and electroencephalographic seizures.

We performed positron emission tomographic (PET) measurements of the regional distribution volume of benzodiazepine receptors and regional glucose metabolism in 6 drug-free patients with early Huntington's disease following injection of [11C]flumazenil, a nonsubtype selective central benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, and 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose, respectively. Flumazenil data were analy...

OBJECTIVE Craving for benzodiazepines has never been examined as a factor of relapse after successful benzodiazepine discontinuation. In this study, we examined the predictive value of craving on benzodiazepine relapse. METHOD A stepped-care intervention trial aimed to discontinue long-term benzodiazepine use in general practice. The first step was the sending of a letter to users advising th...

BACKGROUND Medicare Part D excludes benzodiazepines from coverage, and numerous state government policies limit use of benzodiazepines. No data indicate that such policies have decreased the incidence of hip fracture. OBJECTIVE To assess whether a statewide policy that decreased the use of benzodiazepines among elderly persons by more than 50% has decreased the incidence of hip fracture. DE...

t-Butylbicyclophosphorothionate (TBPS), a derivative of potent GABA antagonistic cage convulsants, has recently been introduced (Squires, R. F., J. E. Casida, M. Richardson, and E. Saederup (1983) Mol. Pharmacol. 13: 326-336) as ligand for a GABA-A receptor-linked drug receptor. Using conventionally prepared washed membrane fractions from rat cerebral cortex, we have confirmed that in the prese...

PURPOSE This paper will review literature examining the association of benzodiazepine use and mortality. METHODS An extensive literature review was undertaken to locate all English-language published articles that examine mortality risk associated with use of benzodiazepines from 1990 onwards. RESULTS Six cohort studies meeting the criteria above were identified. The results were mixed. Thr...