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Related Experiment Videos

Anxiolytics and sedative/hypnotics dependence.

U E Busto1, E M Sellers

  • 1Pharmacy Department & Psychopharmacological Research, Addiction Research Foundation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

British Journal of Addiction
|December 1, 1991
PubMed
Summary

Benzodiazepines, while effective anxiolytics, can cause physical dependence. Discontinuation leads to withdrawal symptoms, potentially driving continued use.

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Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • Clinical Medicine

Background:

  • Anxiolytics and sedative/hypnotics are widely prescribed medications.
  • Benzodiazepines have become the preferred class over barbiturates due to comparable efficacy and improved safety profiles.
  • Concerns exist regarding the potential for physical dependence with chronic benzodiazepine use.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the evidence for physical dependence and withdrawal syndromes associated with benzodiazepine use.
  • To explore the relationship between benzodiazepine discontinuation and continued drug self-administration.

Main Methods:

  • Review of animal studies on chronic benzodiazepine administration and physical dependence.
  • Characterization of human withdrawal syndromes following benzodiazepine discontinuation.
  • Examination of the link between benzodiazepine withdrawal and self-administration behaviors.

Main Results:

  • Chronic benzodiazepine administration in animals induces physical dependence.
  • Withdrawal severity correlates with dose, duration, and drug elimination rate.
  • High-dose benzodiazepines and barbiturates induce physical dependence in humans.
  • A well-characterized withdrawal syndrome occurs after chronic benzodiazepine treatment discontinuation.
  • Withdrawal symptoms can mimic anxiety or rebound effects, but also include distinct withdrawal phenomena.
  • A documented relationship exists between benzodiazepine discontinuation and self-administration.

Conclusions:

  • Benzodiazepines, despite their advantages, carry a risk of physical dependence and withdrawal.
  • Withdrawal symptoms can negatively reinforce continued benzodiazepine use, contributing to persistent drug use.

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