Medline ® Abstracts for References 54,55
of 'Treatment of restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease and periodic limb movement disorder in adults'
54
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Long-term, nightly benzodiazepine treatment of injurious parasomnias and other disorders of disrupted nocturnal sleep in 170 adults.
AU
Schenck CH, Mahowald MW
SO
Am J Med. 1996;100(3):333.
PURPOSE:
To assess the efficacy, dose stability, safety, and abuse potential of long-term, nightly benzodiazepine treatment of chronic disorders of disrupted nocturnal sleep.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
During a 12-year period, one author evaluated and treated 170 adult referrals for>or = 6 months with nightly benzodiazepine therapy for longstanding, sleep-disruptive disorders: injurious sleepwalking and sleep terrors (69); rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (52); chronic, severe insomnia (25); and restless legs syndrome/periodic limb movement disorder (24).
RESULTS:
Complete/substantial control of the sleep disorders was achieved by 146 patients (86%); 8% had adverse effects requiring medication changes; 2% had relapses of alcohol or chemical abuse requiring hospitalization; another 2% at times misused their medications. A total of 136 patients received clonazepam nightly for a mean 3.5 (+/- 2.4) years, with no significant difference in inital versus final mean dose: 0.77 mg (+/- 0.46) versus 1.10 mg (+/- 0.96). Similar results were obtained with chronic alprazolam treatment and with other benzodiazepine treatments.
CONCLUSION:
Long-term, nightly benzodiazepine treatment of injurious parasomnias and other disorders of disrupted nocturnal sleep resulted in sustained efficacy in most cases, with low risk of dosage tolerance, adverse effects, or abuse. Data from this study on the treatment of chronic, severe insomnia (a small subset of all insomnia) are not generalizable to the typical insomnia patient.
AD
Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, Department of Psychiatry, the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, USA.
PMID
55
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Familial restless legs with periodic movements in sleep: electrophysiologic, biochemical, and pharmacologic study.
AU
Montplaisir J, Godbout R, Boghen D, DeChamplain J, Young SN, Lapierre G
SO
Neurology. 1985;35(1):130.
Restless legs syndrome was present in nine members of a family over a span of five generations. In three subjects, the diagnosis was confirmed by all-night sleep recordings and concomitant EMG. Two of these three subjects also had periodic movements in sleep. The frequency of leg movements decreased from wakefulness to stages 1 and 2 non-REM sleep. There was an increase of free dopamine and homovanillic acid in CSF of the propositus. Clonazepam effectively controlled restless legs in the propositus and his mother.
AD
PMID