AIM To elucidate the involvement of noradrenergic system in the mechanism by which diazepam suppresses basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. METHODS Plasma corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels were determined in female rats treated with diazepam alone, as well as with diazepam in combination with clonidine (α(2)-adrenoreceptor agonist), yohimbine (α...

The effects of the benzodiazepine receptor antagonists flumazenil (10, 20, and 30 mglkg) and CGS 8216 (10, 20, and 30 mglkg), the benzodiazepine receptor inverse-agonist methyl {3-carboline3-carboxylate ({3-CCM; 0.3, 0.6, and 1.0 mglkg), and the benzodiazepine receptor agonist diazepam (3 mglkg) were investigated on spatial learning in the Morris water maze and thigmotaxia in an open field. Flu...

A randomised, double-blind trial of atropine, atropine plus papaveretum, and atropine plus diazepam given intramuscularly as premedication for fibreoptic bronchoscopy in 60 patients showed no difference between the three regimens as assessed by bronchoscopist or patient. Bronchoscopists frequently attributed a sedative action to atropine alone and their assessment of tolerance and sedation was ...

Opioid agonists and benzodiazepine agonists each increase food intake. Both also increase hedonic 'liking' reactions to sweet tastes in rats. Do opioids and benzodiazepines share overlapping mechanisms of hedonic impact? Or are benzodiazepine and opioid effects on hedonic impact mediated by independent mechanisms? The present study examined whether blockade of opioid receptors prevents benzodia...

Diazepam binds with the same high affinity to the central benzodiazepine receptor (CBR) and the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, which has been renamed translocator protein (TSPO). Both receptors could promote neurosteroid synthesis. In the present study, we investigated whether a single dose of diazepam could inhibit neuropathic pain induced by L5 spinal nerve ligation (L5 SNL), and whether...

Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS) is a potent convulsant GABAA receptor blocker. Mice receiving a lethal dose of TETS (0.15 mg/kg i.p.) are rescued from death by a high dose of diazepam (5 mg/kg i.p.) administered shortly after the second clonic seizure (∼20 min post-TETS). However, this high dose of diazepam significantly impairs blood pressure and mobility, and does not prevent TETS-induc...

OBJECTIVE The lorazepam-diazepam protocol had been proved to rapidly and effectively relieve catatonia in patients with schizophrenia or mood disorder. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of lorazepam-diazepam protocol in catatonia due to general medical conditions (GMC) and substance. METHOD Patients with catatonia that required psychiatric intervention in various settings of a medic...

The influence of isoflurane on the binding to human serum and isolated human serum albumin (HSA), of drugs (diazepam, phenytoin and warfarin) highly bound to serum proteins, was studied in vitro by equilibrium dialysis. Distribution dialysis was used to determine the effect of isoflurane on the concomitant binding of the drugs to human serum and rat liver cytosol. Isoflurane (3.3% and 5%) signi...

Background. Preoperative anxiety can lead to unfavorable physiological response such as tachycardia and hypertension. Prevention of preoperative anxiety improves surgical outcome and decreases inpatient stay. Yokukansan is one of prescriptions in Kampo, traditional Japanese herbal medicine, and is known to exert anxiolytic effects. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of diaz...

In vitro studies using the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation were performed to investigate the effects of diazepam and three of its metabolites on indirectly evoked twitch tension. Diazepam, desmethyldiazepam and temazepam alone caused an increase in twitch tension in lower concentrations, followed by complete depression in higher concentrations. Oxazepam did not cause an initial incr...