This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Medazepam is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
 |
|
 |
|
|
Medazepam
|
|
| Systematic (IUPAC) name | |
| 9-chloro-2-methyl-6-phenyl- 2,5-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undeca- 5,8,10,12-tetraene |
|
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | |
| ATC code | N05 |
| PubChem | |
| DrugBank | |
| Chemical data | |
| Formula | C16H15ClN2 |
| Mol. mass | 270.8 |
| Pharmacokinetic data | |
| Bioavailability | ? |
| Metabolism | Hepatic |
| Half life | 36-150 hours |
| Excretion | Renal |
| Therapeutic considerations | |
| Pregnancy cat. |
? |
| Legal status |
Schedule IV(US) |
| Routes | Oral |
Medazepam is a drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. It possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties.
It is known by the following brand names: Nobrium, Rudotel, Raporan,Ansilan .[1] Medazepam is a long acting benzodiazepine drug. The half life of medazepam is 36 - 200 hours.[2]
Contents |
Pharmacology
Benzodiazepine drugs including medazepam increase the inhibitory processes in the cerebral cortex by allosteric modulation of the GABA receptor.[3] Benzodiazepines may also act via micromolar benzodiazepine binding sites as Ca2+ channel blockers and significantly inhibited depolarization-sensitive calcium uptake in experiments with cell components from rat brains. This has been conjectured as a mechanism for high dose effects against seizures in a study. [4]
The Committee on the Review of Medicines
The Committee on the Review of Medicines (UK) carried out a review into benzodiazepines due to significant concerns of tolerance, drug dependence and benzodiazepine withdrawal problems and other adverse effects. The committee found that benzodiazepines do not have any antidepressant or analgesic properties and are therefore unsuitable treatments for conditions such as depression, tension headaches and dysmenorrhoea. Benzodiazepines are also not beneficial in the treatment of psychosis due to a lack of efficacy. The committee also recommended against benzodiazepines being used in the treatment of anxiety or insomnia in children. The committee was in agreement with the Institute of Medicine (USA) and the conclusions of a study carried out by the White House Office of Drug Policy and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (USA) that there was little evidence that long term use of benzodiazepine hypnotics were benefitial in the treatment of insomnia due to the development of tolerance. Benzodiazepines tended to lose their sleep promoting properties within 3 - 14 days of continuous use and in the treatment of anxiety the committee found that there was little convincing evidence that benzodiazepines retained efficacy in the treatment of anxiety after 4 months continuous use due to the development of tolerance. The committee found that the regular use of benzodiazepines caused the development of dependence characterised by tolerance to the therapeutic effects of benzodiazepines and the development of the benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome including symptoms such as anxiety, apprehension, tremor, insomnia, nausea, and vomiting upon cessation of benzodiazepine use. Withdrawal symptoms tended to develop within 24 hours on the cessation of a short acting benzodiazepine and within 3 - 10 days after the cessation of a more long acting benzodiazepine. Withdrawal effects could occur after treatment lasting only 2 weeks at therapeutic dose levels however withdrawal effects tended to occur with habitual use beyond 2 weeks and were more likely the higher the dose. The withdrawal symptoms may appear to be similar to the original condition. The committee recommended that all benzodiazepine treatment be withdrawn gradually and recommended that benzodiazepine treatment be used only in carefully selected patients and that therapy be limited to short term use only. It was noted in the review that alcohol can potentiate the central nervous system depressant effects of benzodiazepines and should be avoided. The central nervous system depressant effects of benzodiazepines may make driving or operating machinery dangerous and the elderly are more prone to these adverse effects. In the neonate high single doses or repeated low doses have been reported to produce hypotonia, poor sucking, and hypothermia in the neonate and irregularities in the fetal heart. Benzodiazepines should be avoided in lactation. Withdrawal from benzodiazepines should be gradual as abrupt withdrawal from high doses of benzodiazepines may cause confusion, toxic psychosis, convulsions, or a condition resembling delirium tremens. Abrupt withdrawal from lower doses may cause depression, nervousness, rebound insomnia, irritability, sweating, and diarrhoea.[5]
References
- ^ Encyclopedia of Drugs: Benzodiazepines
- ^ Professor heather Ashton (April 2007). "BENZODIAZEPINE EQUIVALENCY TABLE". Retrieved on Sept 23, 2007.
- ^ Zakusov VV; Ostrovskaya RU, Kozhechkin SN, Markovich VV, Molodavkin GM, Voronina TA. (Oct 1977). "Further evidence for GABA-ergic mechanisms in the action of benzodiazepines." 229 (2): 313–26. PMID 23084.
- ^ Taft WC; DeLorenzo RJ (May 1984). "Micromolar-affinity benzodiazepine receptors regulate voltage-sensitive calcium channels in nerve terminal preparations". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 81 (10): 3118–22. doi:. PMID 6328498.
- ^ Committee on the Review of Medicines (29). "Systematic review of the benzodiazepines. Guidelines for data sheets on diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, medazepam, clorazepate, lorazepam, oxazepam, temazepam, triazolam, nitrazepam, and flurazepam. Committee on the Review of Medicines." (pdf). Br Med J. 280 (6218): 910–2. PMID 7388368.
External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 10 August 2008, at 20:31.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Medazepam".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.