Chronic insomnia: effects of tryptophan, flurazepam, secobarbital, and placebo.
This study compared the effects of l-tryptophan (1 g), secobarbital (100 mg), flurazepam (30 mg), and placebo on sleep in 96 serious insomniacs. Each treatment was given nightly for 7 nights in a separate-group design. Outcome measures were subjective estimates by subjects of a number of sleep parameters during the week of treatment and for 1 week after, and an overall evaluation made by subjects and investigators at the end of the 2 weeks. During the treatment week, flurazepam produced significant improvement on several sleep measures compared to placebo, while tryptophan and secobarbital did not. Flurazepam and secobarbital produced withdrawal symptoms during the post-treatment week, while tryptophan and placebo did not. Sleep latency was not significantly improved by tryptophan during the treatment week, but continued to improve during the post-treatment week, resulting in a significant difference between tryptophan and baseline in week 2.
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D005479:Flurazepam / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010919:Placebos; D012631:Secobarbital / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D010919:Placebos; D012631:Secobarbital; D014364:Tryptophan; D005479:Flurazepam