title: Effects of pregabalin on subjective sleep disturbance symptoms during withdrawal from long-term benzodiazepine use.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness of pregabalin as a tapering therapy on the subjective sleep quality of patients who underwent a benzodiazepine withdrawal program in routine medical practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary analysis of a 12-week prospective, open noncontrolled study carried out in patients who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for benzodiazepine dependence. Sleep was evaluated with the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS Sleep Scale).
  
  
  RESULTS
  282 patients were included in the analysis. Mean (±SD) pregabalin dose was 315 ± 166 mg/day at the end of the trial. We observed a significant and clinically relevant improvement in sleep outcomes at the endpoint, with a total score reduction from 55.8 ± 18.9 to 25.1 ± 18.0 at week 12 (i.e. a 55% reduction). Similar findings were apparent using the six dimensions of the MOS Sleep Scale. Moderate correlations were observed between the MOS Sleep summary index and sleep domains, and there were improvements in anxiety symptoms and disease severity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that pregabalin may improve subjective sleep quality in patients who underwent a benzodiazepine withdrawal program. This effect appears to be partly independent of improvements in symptoms of anxiety or withdrawal. However, controlled studies are needed to establish the magnitude of the effect of pregabalin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital 12 de Octubre, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain. gabrielrubio@med.ucm.es
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bobes
authors.forename: Gaspar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cervera
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Terán
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: López-Gómez
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rejas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000069583:Pregabalin; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D000069583:Pregabalin; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid