Insomnia and sleep complaints are common among older adults. Although once considered safer than benzodiazepine drugs, recent data on non-benzodiazepine drugs, such as zolpidem (Ambien(®)), have revealed similar negative effects. This issue, as well as others, has been included in the recent updated 2012 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria. This article describes the risks and benefits a...

To assess the problem of night pain and the use of hypnotic drugs in patients with rheumatic diseases 165 consecutive patients (mean age 58.5 years) were assessed and questioned about night pain and the use of drugs including night sedation. Most of the patients (106 (64%)) were women. A total of 32 (19%) patients were receiving night sedation for a mean duration of 43.9 months. Fourteen patien...

The symptomatic effects of drug abuse are a result of alterations in the functioning of the following neurotransmitters or their receptors: acetylcholine, dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, norepinephrine, opioids and serotonin. Anticholinergic drugs antagonize acetylcholine receptors. Dissociative drugs affect all transmitter sites. Opiates act on both opioid and adrenergic receptor sites. Psy...

Early in the twentieth century, von Economo provided the first evidence linking the hypothalamus with sleep-wake behavior. His studies concluded that the anterior hypothalamus was associated with sleep, whereas the posterior hypothalamus was associated with waking. In the decades following these observations, a wealth of research has shown that an elaborate circuitry comprising a number of brai...

Being the de facto primary healthcare contacts in rural Bangladesh, retail pharmacy shops (RPSs) influence medication usage by people. Therefore, identifying dispensing activities of RPSs can be a key indicator medicine use. The aim current study is to explore drug practice pharmacists areas Gazipur district. A cross-sectional was designed find out analgesic, antipyretic, Gastro Esophageal Refl...

IMPORTANCE It is important to understand the relationship between sleep medication use and injurious falls in nursing home residents. OBJECTIVE To conduct a case-crossover study to estimate the association between nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic drug use (zolpidem tartrate, eszopiclone, or zaleplon) and the risk for hip fracture among a nationwide sample of long-stay nursing home residents, overal...

As well as the traditional sedative/hypnotic group of drugs that relieve anxiety by day and promote sleep at night there are several other groups of drugs that are used to treat insomnia-particularly antidepressant, antipsychotic, and antihistamine drugs. As they differ substantially in their pharmacological and clinical effects on withdrawal I will consider them separately. The seven sleepers ...