Search

The number of benzodiazepine (BZD) prescriptions has substantially increased over the past decade, leading to a parallel rise in rates of misuse and overdose. These increases have prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to update its "boxed warning" and have caused organizations to revisit prescribing guidelines. Concurrently, strong evidence from clinical trials supports the anxiolytic efficacy of BZDs. Although antidepressants and psychotherapy remain preferred treatments for chronic anxiety, BZDs remain helpful in treating acute or severe and persistent anxiety that does not respond to first-line therapy. Provider and patient education, coupled with prescribing surveillance, may be preferable to an overly stringent regulatory approach to guiding BZD use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrazapon, a pyrazolodiazepinone, exerts strong disinhibitory effects on behavior in a variety of animal tests (ingestion of a novel food substance, conditioned conflict, hypothalamic self-stimulation). In tests for sedation, motor depression, and ataxia, weak effects were seen relative to chlordiazepoxide and diazepam. Pyrazapon also shows considerable ability to protect against pentylenetetrazol-induced convulsions in acute tests. However, much tolerance develops to this effect in the course of daily treatments. Tolerance does not develop, on the other hand, to the behavioral disinhibitory effect. No untoward pharmacodynamic effects were observed at doses several fold greater than those producing the principle pharmacologic effects. Pyrazapon may well be an effective antianxiety drug with very weak sedative side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]