Pharmacotherapy of insomnia: practice and prospects

Insomnia is a complex complaint which is often multifactorial in origin. Pharmacotherapy can only be an adjunct in the treatment of insomnia and hypnotics should be given on an intermittent basis for short periods of time. An overview is presented of the currently available hypnotics, of which benzodiazepines are still the most widely prescribed. New drugs which bind to specific receptor subtypes or which are partial benzodiazepine receptor agonists might overcome the disadvantages associated with chronic benzodiazepine use, but more long-term investigations are needed.