The ability of the benzodiazepines, as a chemical class, to cause the induction and/or inhibition of cytochromes P450 has not been well characterized. In the present study, the induction of the cytochrome P450 2B subfamily (CYP2B) in vivo and the inhibition of CYP2B activity in vitro by selected benzodiazepines was examined in hepatic tissues derived from male F344/NCr rats. Initial studies of ...

BACKGROUND Predisposition to adverse drug events with advancing age has led to the development of lists of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) to be avoided in the elderly, such as the Beers Criteria. The prevalence of Beers medications has been studied widely, but it is still unclear whether PIM use is predictive of adverse events in older people. OBJECTIVES To examine potential ass...

INTRODUCTION A systematic study in women with persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) is urgently needed to develop its clinical management. AIM To investigate the features, possible causes, and treatment of PGAD. METHODS Eighteen women who fulfilled the five criteria for PGAD were included in the study. In-depth interviews were combined with laboratory and imaging studies as reported in...

Benzodiazepines are frequently encountered in forensic toxicology. A literature search was conducted to find a simple method using electron impact-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (EI-GC-MS) to examine whole blood specimens for the most commonly encountered benzodiazepines in the United States. A recently published method was identified in the literature search and used as a starting point ...

Diazepam is a benzodiazepine derivative with anxyolitic, anticonvulsant, hypnotic, sedative, skeletal muscle relaxant, antitremor, and amnestic activity. It is metabolized in the liver by the cytochrome P (CYP) 450 enzyme system. Diazepam is N-demethylated by CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 to the active metabolite N-desmethyldiazepam, and is hydroxylated by CYP3A4 to the active metabolite temazepam. N-desm...

The phase I cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoenzymes have received substantial attention in the pharmacogenetic literature. Researchers are beginning to examine the role of the phase II UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes, which produce products that are more water-soluble, less toxic and more readily excreted than the parent compounds. Several reasonsmay have contributed to neglect of UGTs (comp...

There exist a large number of drugs belonging to the benzodiazepine family. These include the 1,4-benzodiazepines such as diazepam, temazepam and oxazepam, the often more potent diazolo- and triazolo-groups represented by alprazolam, midazolam, triazolam etc. These drugs represent a large range of potencies from submilligram doses to over 100 mg and a range of polarities. Consequently, blood or...

To the Editor: A 55‐year‐old female was admitted to the emergency department of our hospital complaining of dyspnea after catching a bus for about 5 m during last day. She had a past history of suffering from depression mood disorder recently and could not sleep well at night for which she was started on olanzapine tablets 10 mg/d, sertraline hydrochloride tablets 50 mg/d and oxazepam tablets 1...

The present study examined whether zolpidem, an imidazopyridine with selectivity for benzodiazepine (BZ)/gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) receptors containing the alpha1-subunit, had discriminative stimulus effects similar to typical BZs and other sedative/hypnotic drugs in primates. Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) were trained to discriminate zolpidem (1.0 mg/kg i.v.) from vehicle under a 10-res...