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In the elderly, long-term benzodiazepine therapy is a risk factor for amplifying cognitive decline, [29] although gradual withdrawal is associated with improved cognitive status. [30] A study of alprazolam found that 8 weeks administration of alprazolam resulted in deficits that were detectable after several weeks but not after 3.5 years. [31]
Failure to treat benzodiazepine dependence in the elderly can cause serious medical complications. [14] The elderly have less cognitive reserve and are more sensitive to the short (e.g., in between dose withdrawal) and protracted withdrawal effects of benzodiazepines, as well as the side-effects both from short-term and long-term use. This can ...
A box of Lorazepam Orion (Lorazepam) tablets. Lorazepam, sold under the brand name Ativan among others, is a benzodiazepine medication. [14] It is used to treat anxiety (including anxiety disorders), trouble sleeping, severe agitation, active seizures including status epilepticus, alcohol withdrawal, and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. [14]
[citation needed] For example, the equivalent dose of diazepam in an elderly individual on lorazepam may be half of what would be expected in a younger individual. [7] [8] Equivalent doses of benzodiazepines differ as much as 20 fold. [9] [10] [11]
Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome (BZD withdrawal) is the cluster of signs and symptoms that may emerge when a person who has been taking benzodiazepines as prescribed develops a physical dependence on them and then reduces the dose or stops taking them without a safe taper schedule.
The success of gradual-tapering benzodiazepines is as great in the elderly as in younger people. Benzodiazepines should be prescribed to the elderly only with caution and only for a short period at low doses. [94] [95] Short to intermediate-acting benzodiazepines are preferred in the elderly such as oxazepam and temazepam.
Toby Fischer lives in South Dakota, where just 27 doctors are certified to prescribe buprenorphine -- a medication that blunts the symptoms of withdrawal from heroin and opioid painkillers. A Huffington Post analysis of government data found nearly half of all counties in America don't have such a certified physician. So every month, Fischer and his mother drive to Colorado to pick up their ...
Benzodiazepine use disorder (BUD), also called misuse or abuse, [1] is the use of benzodiazepines without a prescription and/or for recreational purposes, which poses risks of dependence, withdrawal and other long-term effects.