Psychomotor effects of diazepam in anxious patients and healthy volunteers.
Psychomotor effects of diazepam, 5 and 10 mg, were compared to placebo in 30 highly anxious, nonpsychotic outpatients and age and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Diazepam did not reduce anxiety according to psychiatrists' ratings, but 10 mg of diazepam three times a day reduced the scores of the self-rated visual analogue scale for anxiety compared to placebo. Diazepam, 5 mg, was devoid of adverse psychomotor effects, but diazepam, 10 mg, impaired tracking and divided attention task performance in patients and volunteers alike. Plasma, erythrocyte, and saliva diazepam and N-desmethyldiazepam concentrations did not correlate with the impairment of psychomotor skills over time.
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003975:Diazepam / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D003708:Nordazepam / Q000378:metabolism; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*
D003708:Nordazepam; D003975:Diazepam