Implications of hypnotic flexibility on patterns of clinical use

Insomnia is common among the primary care patient population, 1.3 times more common in women than men, and the prevalence increases with age. Until recently, benzodiazepines (BZs) were the only first-line hypnotics, but with the availability of non-BZ sleep agents, the management of insomnia is chan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	International journal of clinical practice. Supplement no. 116; p. 14
Main Author:	Lader, M H
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England 01-01-2001
Subjects:	Acetamides - therapeutic use Benzodiazepines - adverse effects Drug Tolerance Forecasting Humans Hypnotics and Sedatives - therapeutic use Multicenter Studies as Topic Pyrimidines - therapeutic use Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - drug therapy Treatment Outcome
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Summary:	Insomnia is common among the primary care patient population, 1.3 times more common in women than men, and the prevalence increases with age. Until recently, benzodiazepines (BZs) were the only first-line hypnotics, but with the availability of non-BZ sleep agents, the management of insomnia is changing. Zolpidem and zopiclone have adverse-effect profiles similar to BZs but lack next-day residual effects with bedtime dosing. Zaleplon is a fast-onset, rapidly eliminated medication that allows for dosing at bedtime or during the night with minimal concern for residual effects. In addition, the BZ-associated problems of tolerance and rebound effects are not evident with long-term zaleplon use. The pharmacokinetic profile of zaleplon has the potential to allow for the treatment of symptoms of sleeplessness when they occur, an approach that could replace the standard practice of always treating in anticipation of a problem.
ISSN:	1368-504X