Insomnia in general practice: the role of temazepam and a comparison with zopiclone.
The aetiology of insomnia can be conveniently divided into six groups: physical (pain, cough, etc.), physiological (shift-workers etc.), psychological (life events), psychiatric (depression, anxiety, etc.), iatrogenic (stimulant drugs, etc.) and idiopathic (no obvious cause). The four main types of insomnia are: prolonged latency, frequent short awakenings, one or two long awakenings and early morning awakening. Patients' habits that may interfere with sleep are related to: alcohol, smoking, tea and coffee drinking, and bedtime drinks. In a double-blind comparison between temazepam and nitrazepam, both drugs were shown to be effective hypnotics, nitrazepam being better for early morning wakening, although at the expense of more hangover effects. Zopiclone, a new cyclopyrrolone hypnotic, was also compared to temazepam in a double-blind cross-over trial and similar hypnotic effects were recorded with both drugs.
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D053961:Azabicyclo Compounds; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects; D013693:Temazepam / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D053961:Azabicyclo Compounds; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D010879:Piperazines; C515050:zopiclone; D013693:Temazepam