| Title |
Benefit-Risk Assessment of Zaleplon in the Treatment of Insomnia
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Drug Safety, November 2012
|
| DOI | 10.2165/00002018-200528040-00003 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Joseph Barbera, Colin Shapiro |
| Abstract |
Insomnia is a heterogeneous, highly prevalent condition that is associated with a high level of psychiatric, physical, social and economic morbidity. The treatment of insomnia involves pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. The mainstay of pharmacological treatment of insomnia has been the benzodiazepines, the introduction of which represented a significant improvement over the barbiturates and chloral hydrate. Although benzodiazepines have been shown to be efficacious in treating insomnia, they have also been associated with a number of adverse effects including tolerance, dependence, withdrawal and abuse potential, impairment in daytime cognitive and psychomotor performance (including an increased risk of accidents and falls), adverse effects on respiration and the disruption of normal sleep architecture with reduction in both slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement. In the last decade, the treatment of insomnia has been supplemented by the introduction of a number of non-benzodiazepine hypnotics including zolpidem, zopiclone and, most recently, zaleplon. Zaleplon possesses a unique pharmacological profile, with an ultra-short half-life of about 1 hour, and selective binding to the BZ1(omega1) receptor subtypes of the GABA(A) receptor. This unique pharmacological profile predicts a number of pharmacodynamic properties that account for a unique benefit-risk profile. Consistent with these predictions, zaleplon has been shown in a number of studies to be efficacious in promoting sleep initiation, but less so in promoting sleep maintenance. The adverse effects associated with zaleplon have been shown to be more rapidly resolved and/or lesser in magnitude than those associated with benzodiazepines (including triazolam) and the longer acting non-benzodiazepine hypnotics (zolpidem and zopiclone). This improved risk profile includes: the effects of zaleplon on psychomotor and cognitive performance; tolerance, withdrawal and rebound; respiratory depression; sleep architecture; and other treatment-emergent adverse effects. The unique benefit-risk profile of this agent may be particularly suitable for certain patients with insomnia and provides yet another option in the management of this impairing condition. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 91 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 90 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 10 | 11% |
| Researcher | 10 | 11% |
| Student > Master | 10 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 8 | 9% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 8 | 9% |
| Other | 15 | 16% |
| Unknown | 30 | 33% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 27 | 30% |
| Psychology | 9 | 10% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 7 | 8% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 4 | 4% |
| Neuroscience | 4 | 4% |
| Other | 7 | 8% |
| Unknown | 33 | 36% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 22 February 2024.
All research outputs
#8,535,472
of 25,374,917 outputs
Outputs from Drug Safety
#916
of 1,852 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#86,085
of 285,246 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Drug Safety
#379
of 812 outputs
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