Parallel Journal Article Summary

Benzodiazepines are typically used for phobias and General Anxiety Disorders. It has shown some benefits, although to a lesser extent, for PTSD. Some forms of Benzodiazepines have been used for treatment of Bipolar Disorder. Side effects can include drowsiness, dizziness, gastrointestinal symptoms, confusion, grogginess, change in heart rate and nightmares. Some common trade names are Valium and Xanax.

It is important to note that benzodiazepines have been frequently associated with hospital admissions resulting in an increased burden on the NHS. It should be seen that doctors should closely supervise elderly patients on these medications to avoid such outcomes. Benzodiazepines can also exhibit adverse effects on the patient which include the following;

The purpose of this paper is to go into extensive research on Alprazolam aka “Xanax” in the duration of this paper, it will be evident the impact that this drug can have on the human body and in my instances, it will be apparent not only how helpful it can be but how life damaging it can be, if not taken safely and carefully. This report will go into extensive detail on the psychodynamics of the drug as well as the pharmacokinetics. Alprazolam is quite powerful and mind altering the affects that it can have on the body can be very intense, especially if not taking carefully which is why it is vital to make sure that you take the recommended doses taken by your doctor, failure to do so can result in death.

What drug is the antagonist and may be used to treat benzodiazepine overdose? What is the dosage in adults? Pediatric patients? What is the risk for complication with its use?

There must be special attention toward the patient's addiction history before these agents are prescribed. An understanding of the toxicity and side effects of benzodiazepines, abuse patterns and alternative anxiolytic and hypnotic agents may help clinicians to be safe from issues of medico legal case.

The study by Amato, Minozzi and Davoli (2011) examined five randomized controlled trials to find an efficient and safe medication to treat AWS. The study which had a total of 7333 patients concluded that benzodiazepines were better for controlling seizures when compared to a placebo and antipsychotics (Amato et al., 2011). When comparing benzodiazepines versus anticonvulsants, researchers concluded that the benzodiazepine chlordiazepoxide had better outcomes. No other studies were found which would compare the effectiveness among benzodiazepines for the treatment of AWS.

High dosages of benzodiazepines creates a massive clinical concern as patients can be easily dependent. Benzodiazepines are an incredibly abused drug in the U.S. Withdrawal treatment is recommended; however, it is sometimes unsuccessful for a large portion of patients. While ceasing the administration the drug all at once can be incredibly difficult for the patient and often times detrimental to the patient’s health, tapering is recommended by most doctors for allowing patients to successfully be independent from the drug and therapy during the tapering process is widely recommended and incredibly successful.

Four articles were chosen with the first article being: Psychotropic medications, including short acting benzodiazepines; strongly increase the frequency of falls in elderly, written by Atrid Strien, Huiberdina Koek, Rob van Marum, and Marielle Emmelot-Vonk. The

Perry, P. J., Alexander, B., Liskow, B. I., & DeVane, C. L. (2007). Psychotropic drug handbook (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Benzodiazepine are commonly used and widely trusted for medical use because they have high safety rating, and death is rare even among cases of overdose. Valium medically targets certain chemicals in the brain that cause anxiety because they have become unbalanced. It is used medically to treat anxiety, forms of epilepsy, panic attacks, spontaneous muscle spasms, alcohol withdrawal, and other types of drug withdrawals. It is a legal drug in the United States. In 1963, three years after it was approved, it was released the the public and like other benzodiazepine drugs, it quickly became popular. In fact, it was the best selling pharmaceutical in the United States from 1969 to 1982. Due to this popularity, Hoffmann La-Roche gained a credible and well-known reputation. Valium is a popular and well known drug.

These drugs have the ability to reduce CNS activity causing the drug to promote fatigue which allows for a more productive sleep. Benzodiazepines that are intended to treat insomnia are classified as hypnotics. Some benzodiazepines are considered sedatives because they are prescribed to relax and calm patients which allows successful treatment for anxiety. Benzodiazepines are considered to substantially less dangerous than barbiturates because there are usually lower doses prescribed which lead to fewer instances of addiction. However, these drugs can be considered dangerous when they are combined with alcohol. Mixing barbiturates with alcohol can cause heightened and harmful

A variety of interventions such as anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines and combination therapies included were not considered in the economic analysis. Benzodiazepines is a drug that cannot be used longer than 2 to 4 weeks to treat anxiety. Clinical evidence on anticonvulsants and combination therapies had an overall low quality and was particular limited. Due to these reasons, the inclusion of these interventions in the analysis would not have significant implications for decision making. A significant limitation of the economic analysis was the poor quality of the recurrence of symptoms data used because of the lack of full bodied evidence of comparative risk of relapse between psychological and pharmacological interventions. Besides, the lack of intervention specific data, the economic model supposed one common risk of relapse employed to all pharmacological interventions and one common risk of relapse across all psychological ones. However, the evidence suggest that in contrast to pharmacological interventions, which has a relatively high relapse risk at six months of maintenance treatment, the psychological interventions is well maintained after end of treatment. Besides, for the economic model, the mean probabilities of

The types are benzodiazepines and barbiturates. Benzodiazepines are the most abused overall though. Benzodiazepines have many medical uses and are often prescribed by doctors to treat panic disorder, OCD, Phobias, PTSD and more anxiety disorders. They are even used to treat insomnia, convulsive disorders and are even used in dentistry. The drug acts on the receptors of GABA neurotransmitters which is what helps relax patients. Some examples of drugs are Xanax, Ativan, Valium and Klonopin. Although most people don't die from abuse of benzodiazepines, if mixed with alcohol can be fatal. One of the most commonly abused substances of this class is a drug called Xanax. Abuse of benzodiazepines can lead to many side effects such as amnesia, disinhibition, emotional blunting and depression. Disinhibition from these drugs can decrease a person's self control and can lead to excessive anger and poor decision making. It is very similar to how alcohol can increase this also. Along with depression increases in suicidal ideation can occur (Longo and Johnson, pp.

Anxiolytics are medications that decrease anxiety while hypnotics promote sleep. Some medications termed benzodiazepines are effective and used predominantly for anxiety but aid sleep due to having sedating properties. Benzodiazepine intended uses are for anxiety (general, panic, anticipatory and anxiety secondary to stress), sleep, side effects of other medications, agitation, alcohol and other sedative/hypnotic withdrawal and muscle spasms. Benzodiazepines include diazepam, lorazepam, clonazepam and alprazolam where all possess addictive properties. Other medications useful in treating anxiety without sedating properties include buspirone and D-cycloserine.

The efficacy and safety of the drug in patients under the age of 18 years is not established. With renal / hepatic insufficiency and long-term treatment, control over the picture of peripheral blood and liver enzymes is necessary. Patients who did not take previously psychoactive drugs respond to the drug at lower doses compared to patients taking antidepressants, anxiolytics or alcohol. With endogenous depression, alprazolam can be used in combination with antidepressants. With the use of alprazolam, patients with depression have seen cases of hypomanic and manic development. Like other benzodiazepines, alprazolam has the ability to induce drug dependence in long-term admission in large doses (more than 4 mg / day). With a sudden discontinuation of alprazolam, there may be comeback syndromes, such as depression, irritability, insomnia, increased sweating, especially with prolonged admission (more than 8-12 weeks). When patients develop such unusual reactions as increased aggressiveness, acute excitations, feelings of fear, thoughts of suicide, hallucinations, increased muscle cramps, difficult sleep, superficial sleep, treatment should be discontinued. During pregnancy Xanax is very dangerous due to its toxic effect on the fetus and increases the risk of congenital malformations when applied in the first trimester of pregnancy. Admission of therapeutic doses in later periods