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Biomedical subjects

A Kales

Publications and source records attributed to A Kales.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Rebound insomnia. A potential hazard following withdrawal of certain benzodiazepines.

Five benzodiazepine drugs (diazepam, flunitrazepam, flurazepam hydrochloride, nitrazepam, and triazolam) were evaluated separately in 15 sleep laboratory studies. Rebound insomnia, a worsening of sleep compared with baseline, occurred following withdrawal of triazolam, nitrazepam, and flunitrazepam after they had been given in only single, nightly doses for short periods. The rebound insomnia was attributed to the short and intermediate half-lives of these drugs. Diazepam and flurazepam, which have longer half-lives, did not cause rebound insomnia on withdrawal. Rebound insomnia may play a role in the development of hypnotic drug dependence with shorter-acting benzodiazepine drugs.

Acute Disease↗

Successful treatment of narcolepsy with propranolol: a case report.

A patient with severe narcolepsy and cataplexy had been treated with a high dosage of methylphenidate hydrochloride, but the drug was not effective. To relieve the patient's cardiac arrhythmia, which was assumed to be secondary to drug therapy, we withdrew methylphenidate therapy and started propranolol hydrochloride therapy. When the dosage of propranolol was increased to a level consistent with maximum beta-adrenergic receptor blockade, the attacks were eliminated.

Female↗

Clinical evaluation of hypnotic drugs: contributions from sleep laboratory studies.

The most thorough and clinically relevant approach to hypnotic drug evaluation is one that balances the strengths and weaknesses of clinical trials and sleep laboratory evaluations. Advantages of clinical trials include the ability to evaluate large numbers of subjects and specific target groups and to thoroughly assess and quantify a drug's side effects, whereas sleep laboratory studies are very limited in all of these areas. Sleep laboratory studies however provide a rigorous, precise, and comprehensive profile of a drug's activity since there is more control over experimental variables and measurements are objective as well as continuous throughout the night. These benefits offset the shortcomings of clinical trials, which include a lack of objective measurements, less control over experimental variables, failure to evaluate a drug's effectiveness with continued use, and inattention to drug interaction and withdrawal effect. Several basic principles derived from sleep laboratory findings have been incorporated into both the clinical trials and sleep laboratory evaluations recommended in the new FDA Guidelines for the Clinical Evaluation of Hypnotic Drugs. These principles include provision for adequate baseline and withdrawal periods, use of multiple consecutive drug nights to assess a drug's effectiveness with continued use, and inclusion of an adequate washout period when a cross-over design is used. The guidelines do not emphasize either clinical trials or sleep laboratory studies at the expense of each other, but rather stress their complementary utilization.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Disseminated intravascular coagulation in sickle cell crisis.

We conclude that DIC can occur as a result of sickle cell crisis in the absence of sepsis and we recommend that patients with sickle cell disease, particularly those with hemoglobin SC disease, presenting in crisis should be considered at risk for the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation. With symptomatic treatment and improvement of the crisis, our patient's coagulopathy resolved.

Adult↗

Management of insomnia.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic↗

Long-term sleep laboratory evaluation of flunitrazepam.

A sleep laboratory hypnotic drug evaluation study was conducted in which 2 mg flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine with a half life of intermediate duration, was administered nightly to 6 insomniac subjects for 4 consecutive weeks. The drug was effective with short-term use. However, tolerance developed for sleep maintenance during the intermediate- and long-term drug administration periods. Following drug withdrawal, a significant worsening of sleep above baseline levels occurred. These data are consistent with our previous findings of rebound insomnia following withdrawal of short- and intermediate-acting benzodiazepines.

Adult↗

Prevalence of sleep disorders in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

The authors determined the prevalence of sleep disorders in a general population through a survey of 1,006 representative households in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. They found an overall prevalence of current or previous sleep disorders in adults of 52.1%. Specifically, they found a 42.5% prevalence of insomnia, 11.2% of nightmares, 7.1% of excessive sleep, 5.3% of sleeptalking, and 2.5% of sleepwalking. These conditions were often chronic and usually started early in life. Insomnia was more frequent in older people, particularly older women, and in people of lower educational socioeconomic status. Insomnia, nightmares, and hypersomnia were correlated with more frequent general physical and mental health problems.

Adolescent↗

Somnambulistic-like episodes secondary to combined lithium-neuroleptic treatment.

Ten of 114 psychiatric patients undergoing combined lithium-neuroleptic treatment exhibited somnambulistic-like episodes. These episodes are differentiated from nocturnal wanderings and epileptic attacks during sleep; they occurred within two to three hours after sleep onset and were characterized by the patients appearing confused and walking about in a quiet, detached and clumsy manner. Generally, there was amnesia for the event. Since sleepwalking occurs out of slow wave sleep, the increase in slow wave sleep induced by lithium and certain neuroleptics may represent a neurophysiological mechanism responsible for these patients' somnambulistic behaviour. The occurrence of grand mal seizures in two patients was probably unrelated to the somnambulistic-like episodes. However, persistence of the latter appears to be associated with drug-induced EEG irregularity.

Adolescent↗

Rebound insomnia: a new clinical syndrome.

Rebound insomnia followed the withdrawal of three benzodiazepine hypnotic drugs, each of which had been administered in a single nightly dose for only short-term periods. The intense worsening of sleep is attributed to the short duration of the action of these drugs. A hypothesis involving benzodiazepine receptors in the brain is proposed in which there is a delay or lag in replacement of endogenous benzodiazepine-like molecules after the abrupt withdrawal of exogenous drugs.

Benzodiazepines↗

Hypnotic effectiveness of sodium salicylamide with short-term use: sleep laboratory studies.

Sodium salicylamide in doses of 650 and 1,300 mg was evaluated in two separate sleep laboratory drug evaluation studies of insomniac patients. Each study utilized a standard protocol of 10 consecutive laboratory nights consisting of four placebo nights for adaptation and baseline, three drug nights for short-term drug administration and three placebo nights for evaluating withdrawal. Neither dose had a clear-cut hypnotic effect in inducing or maintaining sleep. Sleep stages were not effected by drug administration or drug withdrawal. Both the objective findings and subjective estimates suggest that the 1,300-mg dose may have a slight sedative effect. However, when salicylamide is used as an ingredient in over-the-counter preparations, the usual dose is only 200-400 mg.

Adult↗

Comparative effectiveness of nine hypnotic drugs: sleep laboratory studies.

The effectiveness of nine hypnotic drugs was compared using a standard protocol in separate sleep laboratory drug evaluation studies. All of these drugs were relatively effective in improving sleep with initial and short-term use. However, with intermediate-term use (two weeks), most of the drugs showed a marked decrease in their effectiveness. Following withdrawal, sleep was similar to baseline with most of the drugs, continued to be improved with flurazepam (Dalmane), 30 mg, and worsened beyond baseline levels with triazolam (U33030), 0.5 mg. The determination of a drug's effectiveness with continued use is most important clinically in enabling the physician to rationally and effectively use hypnotic drugs in the adjunctive treatment of insomnia.

Adult↗

Personality patterns in insomnia. Theoretical implications.

Subjects with a primary complaint of insomnia (N = 124) were evaluated with Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories (MMPIs). A high percentage of subjects (85%) had one or more MMPI scales elevated to a pathological degree. The scales most elevated were, in order. 2 (depression), 7 (psychasthenia), and 3 (conversion hysteria). A striking finding was the preponderance of depression. This was indicated by the frequency in which scale 2 was elevated above 70, the frequency in which this this scale had the highest elevation, and the frequency of MMPI code types that included scale 2. Four common MMPI code types representing various types of depression were noted, indicating considerable homogeneity for code types in this sample. The predominant personality styles in this sample were characterized by the internalization of psychological distrubances rather than by acting out or aggression. We propose that this internalization produces a state of constant emotional arousal and resultant physiological activation and that this process is a psychophysiological mechansim underlyling insomnia.

Adolescent↗

Sleep laboratory studies of flurazepam: a model for evaluating hypnotic drugs.

The results from six separate evaluations of flurazepam 30 mg in the sleep laboratory were combined to determine the effectiveness of the drug in inducing and maintaining sleep and its effects on sleep stages in a large sample of insomniac subjects. The combined studies provide a model from which a detailed profile of the effects of a hypnotic drug over short-, intermediate-, and long-term conditions can be thoroughly evaluated. Although sleep was significantly improved on the first night of flurazepam administration, peak effectiveness of the drug did not result until the second and third consecutive drug nights. Flurazepam continued to be effective in inducing and maintaining sleep with intermediate-and long-term drug use with only a slight loss of effectiveness with long-term use. Sleep was also significantly improved on the first and second nights of drug withdrawal. Carryover effectiveness of active metabolites of flurazepam from one drug night to the next drug night and to withdrawl nights is discussed. The clinical implications are discussed with regard to the time of peak effectiveness of the drug, dosage recommendations and schedule, minimizing possible effects of the drug on daytime performance, and the rationale and method for using drug holidays in the treatment regimen. With this comprehensive profile of the drug's actions, the physician is able to more rationally and effectively utilize the drug in treating the insomniac patient. With short-term administration, flurazepam produced a slight decrease in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and an increase in REM latency. These effects were much more pronounced with intermediate-term drug administration, again possibly due to the accumulation of active metabolites. After withdrawal there was no rebound in REM sleep. Stages 3 and 4 sleep decreased progressively through short and intermediate drug administration. With initial withdrawal, there was a slight recovery in both sleep stages.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗

Effectiveness of intermediate-term use of secobarbital.

Secobarbital, 100 mg, was evaluated in two separate sleep laboratory drug evaluation studies, each with 4 insomniac patients. In both studies, the effect of secobarbital in inducing and maintaining sleep was evaluated, as well as the effects of the drug on sleep stages. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the results of the two studies could be combined. With short-term drug administration of secobarbital (up to 3 nights), there was an improvement in both sleep induction and sleep maintenance. Total wake time was decreased 43% below baseline and was consistently decreased in each third of the night. With intermediate-term drug administration (2 wk), total wake time was decreased only 14% (not statistically significant). Following drug withdrawal, the degree of sleep difficulty returned to baseline levels. The results indicate that secobarbital 100 mg is effective for short-term use but loses much of its effectiveness with intermediate use and suggest that the drug is of limited value for insomniac patients who require nightly medication beyond a period of 1 wk. With short-term administration, secobarbital induced a slight decrease in rapid eye movement (REM) and slow-wave sleep and a significant increase in stage 2 sleep. With intermediate administration, sleep stage values were similar to baseline levels. Following withdrawal, there was only a minimal increase in REM sleep above baseline levels, a significant increase in stage 3 sleep, and a significant decrease in stage 2 sleep. The rebound increase in stage 3 sleep is similar to that reported following withdrawal of pentobarbital.

Adult↗