OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present preliminary study was to explore the prevalence of nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines in a group of opiate-dependent patients who were on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program in outpatient clinics in the south-west of Tehran, Iran. METHODS 114 male and female opiate-dependent clients who met DSM.IV-TR criteria for opiate dependence with mean age ...

Benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine receptor agonists (e.g., zaleplon [Sonata], zolpidem [Ambien]) are widely used to treat anxiety and insomnia, even though antidepressants are first-line therapy for anxiety disorders based on the evidence.1 In this issue of American Family Physician, Drs. Ramar and Olson review the management of insomnia and other sleep disorders.2 When benzodiazepines are use...

OBJECTIVE To systematically review the benefits and risks associated with the use of benzodiazepines to treat insomnia in adults. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Registry were searched for English-language articles published from 1966 to December 1998 that described randomized controlled trials of benzodiazepines for the treatment of insomnia. Key words included "benzo...

Benzodiazepines are useful and effective psychotropic agents used worldwide. However, the long term use of the drugs can lead to serious adverse health effects such as psychomotor and cognitive impairment, especially in the elderly. In Japan, there are very few reports concerning long-term use of benzodiazepines, and no countermeasures have been instituted. Thus, this study assessed the charact...

Anxiety disorders include generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and social phobia. Consideration of the chronicity of these disorders reveals that anxiety disorders first occur during early adolescence or young adulthood, and can wax and wane over periods of 5 to 10 years. Thus, in considering treatment, the emphasis must be placed on long term, rathe...

BACKGROUND Contrary to short-term use, long-term benzodiazepine use is undesirable. Nevertheless, its prevalence is high. To prevent long-term use, it is important to know which short-term users are at risk of becoming long-term users. OBJECTIVES The purpose of the present study was to identify patient-related factors of long-term versus short-term use of benzodiazepines. METHODS A cross-se...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of progressively disabling degenerative dementia. In dementia in general, there are, unfortunately, even from earliest stages disease, associated behavioural and psychological symptoms (BPSD), more pronouncedly AD, addition to cognitive impairment. There are no specific drugs for treatment BPSDs. Therefore, remains an unmet medical need. To date,...