DIAZEPAM SUMMARY
Diazepam is a benzodiazepine derivative.
Diazepam Tablets USP are indicated for the management of anxiety disorders or for the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety or tension associated with the stress of everyday life usually does not require treatment with an anxiolytic.
In acute alcohol withdrawal, diazepam may be useful in the symptomatic relief of acute agitation, tremor, impending or acute delirium tremens and hallucinosis.
Diazepam is a useful adjunct for the relief of skeletal muscle spasm due to reflex spasm to local pathology (such as inflammation of the muscles or joints, or secondary to trauma), spasticity caused by upper motor neuron disorders (such as cerebral palsy and paraplegia), athetosis, and stiff-man syndrome.
Oral diazepam may be used adjunctively in convulsive disorders, although it has not proved useful as the sole therapy.
The effectiveness of diazepam in long-term use, that is, more than 4 months, has not been assessed by systematic clinical studies. The physician should periodically reassess the usefulness of the drug for the individual patient.
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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Published Studies Related to Diazepam
Safety and effectiveness of long-term treatment with diazepam auto-injector
administered by caregivers in an outpatient setting for the treatment of acute
repetitive seizures. [2014] OBJECTIVE: Part 1 of this phase III study was a randomized, double-blind,
parallel-group, placebo-controlled, multicenter study of caregiver administered
diazepam auto-injector (AI) in subjects with acute repetitive seizures (ARS) and
demonstrated that diazepam AI was well-tolerated and significantly more effective
than placebo AI in delaying the time to next seizure or rescue...
Lorazepam vs diazepam for pediatric status epilepticus: a randomized clinical
trial. [2014] IMPORTANCE: Benzodiazepines are considered first-line therapy for pediatric
status epilepticus...
Valproate versus diazepam for generalized convulsive status epilepticus: a pilot study. [2011.12] Background and purpose: Evidence-based data to guide the management of status epilepticus (SE) after failure of primary treatment are still scarce and the alternate needs to be found when phenytoin (PHT) is not available or contraindicated. Comparison of intravenous (IV) valproate (VPA) and diazepam (DZP) infusion has not been conducted in adults with SE...
Diazepam pharmacokinetics after nasal drop and atomized nasal administration in dogs. [2011.02] The standard of care for emergency therapy of seizures in veterinary patients is intravenous (i.v.) administration of benzodiazepines, although rectal administration of diazepam is often recommended for out-of-hospital situations, or when i.v...
Clinical efficacy and cardiorespiratory effects of alfaxalone, or diazepam/fentanyl for induction of anaesthesia in dogs that are a poor anaesthetic risk. [2011.01] OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and cardiorespiratory effects of alfaxalone as an anaesthetic induction agent in dogs with moderate to severe systemic disease... CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Induction of anaesthesia with alfaxalone resulted in similar cardiorespiratory effects when compared to the fentanyl-diazepam-propofol combination and is a clinically acceptable induction agent in sick dogs.
Clinical Trials Related to Diazepam
Comparison of Absorption of Vaginal Diazepam Using Different Delivery Systems [Terminated]
The purpose of this study is to determine which of three delivery systems of vaginal
diazepam have the best systemic absorption, measured by serum diazepam levels. The three
delivery systems are: moistened tablet, suppository or cream. Additionally the study will
compare the side effects and absorption of vaginal diazepam with oral diazepam. Vaginal
diazepam is used off-label vaginally to relax pelvic floor muscles and reduce pelvic pain
caused from pelvic floor dysfunction.
A Study of Diazepam After Intranasal and Intravenous Administration to Healthy Volunteers [Completed]
The purpose of this clinical research study is to assess the bioavailability and
pharmacokinetics of two formulations of diazepam after intranasal (nasal spray) and
injectable diazepam after intravenous (I. V.) administration
Prevention of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) With Diazepam [Active, not recruiting]
PTSD is a pervasive and frequent disorder. Early psychological treatment - but not
pharmacology - effectively prevent PTSD.
Current pharmacological studies did not include treatment given immediately after trauma
exposure.
However, a recent study of opiates suggests that their early administration may reduce the
likelihood of developing PTSD - possibly by mitigating early post-traumatic distress (UCR) -
within an adequate window of time.
Benzodiazepines are often used to reduce anxiety and agitation during stressful situations -
including traumatic event.
These compounds may increase the likelihood of developing PTSD when administered few days
after the traumatic event - but their effect as an immediate intervention has not been
studied - despite their frequent and uninformed use at this stage.
This work will evaluate the effect of diazepam - a BZ compound - on PTSD symptom trajectory
following traumatic event in a randomized controlled design.
Following the studies of opiates it is hoped that diazepam, administered within hours of the
traumatic event, and before the first night sleep (a memory consolidating condition) will
reduce the likelihood of developing PTSD. However, an adverse effect cannot be excluded, and
thus the investigators posit a bidirectional hypothesis.
The importance of this work is that it will provide the necessary evidence to sanction a
frequently practiced use of benzodiazepines.
Exploring the Effects of Diazepam and Lorazepam [Completed]
Aims :
- exploring lorazepam (0. 038 mg/kg) effects, after a single oral intake, in healthy
volunteers, on the neural correlates of encoding and retrieval of information during a
word-stem completion task (implicit memory), using fMRI
- comparing lorazepam effects to diazepam (0. 3 mg/kg)effects
- exploring benzodiazepines effects, after a single oral intake, on the neural correlates
of successful encoding of information within explicit memory using fMRI
Hypothesis :
- both diazepam and lorazepam will impair explicit memory performance, but lorazepam only
will impair perceptual priming
- lorazepam and diazepam will modify the normal correlates of information encoding within
explicit memory
- lorazepam only will alter the neural correlates of perceptual priming
Impact of a One-month Long Detoxification Diazepam Treatment on Early Alcohol Relapse [Recruiting]
Alcohol-dependence is a medical condition that can lead to the occurrence of an alcohol
withdrawal syndrome (AWS) in case of alcohol drinking cessation. Diazepam is the reference
medication for preventing or treating AWS. The recommended average diazepam treatment
duration is usually around one week, and this duration is generally not considered to impact
the subsequent relapse rate in alcohol drinking.
However, several previous studies have found that patients experienced frequent anxious
symptoms during the weeks following detoxification. Such symptoms may foster early relapse
in alcohol drinking. Furthermore, it has been suggested that this anxiety could pertain to
late withdrawal symptoms.
The DIAMA study hypothesizes that extending the diazepam detoxification treatment to one
month can significantly reduce the cumulated relapse rate in alcohol drinking over the three
following months.
Reports of Suspected Diazepam Side Effects
Toxicity TO Various Agents (259),
Completed Suicide (248),
Cardiac Arrest (220),
Respiratory Arrest (199),
Drug Abuse (153),
Cardio-Respiratory Arrest (144),
Death (110),
Overdose (88),
Malaise (81),
Drug Interaction (68), more >>
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PATIENT REVIEWS / RATINGS / COMMENTSBased on a total of 9 ratings/reviews, Diazepam has an overall score of 5.67. The effectiveness score is 7.56 and the side effect score is 6.89. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. Below are selected reviews: the highest, the median and the lowest rated.
| Diazepam review by 35 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | stress |
Dosage & duration: | | 5mg taken when necessary for the period of over a period of years on and off |
Other conditions: | | tearfullness.bad dreams |
Other drugs taken: | | marvelon | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | The drug calmed me down and stopped me from crying constantly.I only took it when absolutely necessary which was a huge benefit, unlike the anti anxiety drugs given out now which you have to take every day for long periods.Valium works instantly and I never had any problems at all with it. I do not understand why it is not given out instead of all these other antidepressants which are readily available and cause huge problems and come with awful side effects. |
Side effects: | | None to speak of except for slight tiredness. |
Comments: | | To be taken 3 times a day, but I only took as & when necessary. |
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| Diazepam review by 18 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | mood swings, felt BY- POLAR |
Dosage & duration: | | 1/3 of 1 pill taken whenever im feeling stressed for the period of only for the last 2 days |
Other conditions: | | Non |
Other drugs taken: | | Non | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Non moody after taking 1/3 of 1 pill, calm and relaxed. |
Side effects: | | Never feeling sexual aroused anymore since taking the pills. Not once since taking the pill. Not wanting partner to try anything sexual, I'm just turned off. Have no idea why but i definitely know it's those pills. |
Comments: | | Diazepam : 1/3 of 1 pill
whenever i'm feeling stressed,mood swings, felt BY- POLAR
Non moody after taking 1/3 of 1 pill, calm and relaxed.
Never feeling sexual aroused anymore since taking the pills though. Not once since taking the pill. Not wanting partner to try anything sexual, I'm just turned off. Have no idea why but i definitely know it's those pills.
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| Diazepam review by 40 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Ineffective |
Side effects: | | Extremely Severe Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Anxiety |
Dosage & duration: | | 10 mg qid taken one day for the period of one day |
Other conditions: | | PTSD |
Other drugs taken: | | None | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | None |
Side effects: | | Drug-induced psychosis, resulting in 10 day commitment to a mental institution. |
Comments: | | Many people I know - I now work as a health care professional - erroneously believe that Valium, Xanax, Ativan, and other benzodiazepines must be used "as directed" and have enhanced benefit if "built up in the brain"- ie: in ways similar to SSRI's effect on the brain over time. I was entirely aware that diazepam is a "prn" medication, and chose to use the prescribed dosage on one particular day hoping it would carry me through a difficult situation. Unfortunately, I suffered a "paradoxical reaction" which cost me dearly in many tragic ways. I was in a state of severe psychosis for days- because my "benzo" level was low when admitted to the hospital, I was given diazepam for an additional two days, whereupon I apparently refused to take any medication at all, and recovered as I "detoxed". I have absolutely no memory of five days of my life. I have done research into this phenomenon, and must warn all that this seems to occur most often in indiviguals with dopamine/GABA reuptake variants- such as those with ADHD, Parkinsons, and also PTSD. Diazepam is a "bandaid" and offers no long-term therapeutic benefit whatsoever. In fact, "rebound" anxiety and profound depression are common. What is most ironic is that in the medical setting, this occurs often after administration of "Versed", is recognized quickly, and fluzanimine is given as an antidote. Outside of this scenario, the patient is blamed, treated as a suspected drug addict, and stigmatized. |
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Page last updated: 2014-11-30
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