Alprazolam: a review of its pharmacodynamic properties and efficacy in the treatment of anxiety and depression.
Alprazolam is a triazolobenzodiazepine which is related to diazepam and other 1,4-benzodiazepines, and has a similar pharmacological profile. Relative to the newer benzodiazepines, alprazolam has an intermediate half-life of 10 to 12 hours in healthy young subjects. In placebo-controlled and double-blind comparative trials in patients with anxiety, alprazolam was of comparable efficacy to diazepam and generally caused a lower incidence of drowsiness. Alprazolam has antidepressant activity and has been shown to be similar in efficacy to imipramine in the treatment of unipolar depression. Thus, alprazolam may be particularly useful in patients with mixed anxiety/depression. However, its general acceptance as an antidepressant awaits further studies.
D000525:Alprazolam; D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003975:Diazepam / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007099:Imipramine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007700:Kinetics
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D007099:Imipramine; D003975:Diazepam; D000525:Alprazolam