OXAZEPAM SUMMARY
Oxazepam is the first of a chemical series of compounds, the 3-hydroxybenzodiazepinones. A therapeutic agent providing versatility and flexibility in control of common emotional disturbances, this product exerts prompt action in a wide variety of disorders associated with anxiety, tension, agitation, and irritability, and anxiety associated with depression. In tolerance and toxicity studies on several animal species, this product reveals significantly greater safety factors than related compounds (chlordiazepoxide and diazepam) and manifests a wide separation of effective doses and doses inducing side effects.
Oxazepam is indicated for the management of anxiety disorders or for the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety or tension associated with the stress of everyday life usually does not require treatment with an anxiolytic.
Anxiety associated with depression is also responsive to oxazepam therapy.
This product has been found particularly useful in the management of anxiety, tension, agitation, and irritability in older patients.
Alcoholics with acute tremulousness, inebriation, or with anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal are responsive to therapy.
The effectiveness of oxazepam in long-term use, that is, more than 4 months, has not been assessed by systematic clinical studies. The physician should reassess periodically the usefulness of the drug for the individual patient.
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NEWS HIGHLIGHTSMedia Articles Related to Oxazepam
Easing Needle Anxiety
Source: Anxiety / Stress News From Medical News Today [2009.11.19]
Needle! For some people, the word-almost as much as the sight of one sliding into skin-is enough for people to cringe, cry, even swoon if they're standing in line waiting for one. Experts believe fear of needles may be preventing people from rolling up their sleeves for the H1N1 vaccination.
Depression As Deadly As Smoking, But Anxiety May Be Good For You
Source: Anxiety / Stress News From Medical News Today [2009.11.19]
A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College London has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking.
At-Risk College Students Reduce HBP, Anxiety, Depression Through Transcendental Meditation
Source: Anxiety / Stress News From Medical News Today [2009.11.18]
The Transcendental Meditation technique may be an effective method to reduce blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and anger among at-risk college students, according to a new study to be published in the American Journal of Hypertension, December 2009.
Anxiety And Distress During Active Surveillance For Early Prostate Cancer
Source: Prostate / Prostate Cancer News From Medical News Today [2009.11.16]
UroToday.com - The present study found that the majority of men with early prostate cancer (PC) included in a protocol-based program for active surveillance (AS) show favorable anxiety and distress scores when compared to reference values and to groups of patients with PC who underwent other treatments.
Doctors gird for patient anxiety over Zetia data (Reuters)
Source: Y! Health Anxiety News [2009.11.16]
Reuters - The good news for Merck & Co's Zetia cholesterol fighter is that doctors do not seem unduly concerned about its latest setback in a clinical trial. The bad news is they think patient anxiety will cause its sales to drop anyway.
Published Studies Related to Oxazepam
Oxazepam does not modulate the behavioral effects of d-amphetamine in humans. [2005.10]
Benzodiazepines, which are gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABA(A)) receptor positive modulators, can block the behavioral effects of psychomotor stimulants. In the present study, the ability of oxazepam, which may have less abuse potential compared to some other benzodiazepines, to attenuate the discriminative-stimulus, subject-rated and psychomotor performance effects of d-amphetamine in humans was determined...
Effects of additional oxazepam in long-term users of oxazepam. [2005.02]
Although additional dosages of benzodiazepines in long-term users of benzodiazepines are common, it is unknown whether these additional dosages resort any effect. The effects of an additional 20-mg dosage oxazepam were assessed in a double-blind, balanced-order, crossover randomized study comparing 16 long-term users of oxazepam (patients) with 18 benzodiazepine-naive controls (controls)...
Efficacy and tolerability of valerian extract LI 156 compared with oxazepam in the treatment of non-organic insomnia--a randomized, double-blind, comparative clinical study. [2002.11.25]
Patients aged 18 to 73 years and diagnosed with non-organic insomnia according to ICD-10 (F 51.0) were treated in a multicentre, double-blind, randomised parallel group comparison with either 600 mg/die valerian extract LI 156 (Sedonium) or 10 mg/die oxazepam taken for 6 weeks... During the 6 week treatment phase Valerian extract LI 156 (Sedonium) 600 mg/die showed a comparable efficacy to 10 mg/die oxazepam in the therapy of non-organic insomnia.
Effects of lorazepam and oxazepam on perceptual and procedural memory functions. [2002.11]
RATIONALE: Lorazepam has been found to consistently impair performance on both episodic and perceptual priming tasks, whereas other benzodiazepines have shown perceptual priming to be preserved. However, it has recently been postulated that benzodiazepines may exert time-dependent effects on implicit memory processes after research findings indicated some benzodiazepines, other than lorazepam, impair performance on priming tasks when tested at the time of peak plasma concentration level after benzodiazepine administration. OBJECTIVES: To compare time-dependent effects of lorazepam and oxazepam on implicit memory tasks, specifically perceptual priming and procedural learning... CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with previous research showing a differential effect of lorazepam in impairing perceptual memory but the notion that benzodiazepines exert time-dependent effects on implicit memory processes was not supported.
Intravenous flumazenil versus oxazepam tapering in the treatment of benzodiazepine withdrawal: a randomized, placebo-controlled study. [2002.10]
Flumazenil (FLU), a benzodiazepine (BZD) partial agonist with a weak intrinsic activity, was previously found unable to precipitate withdrawal in tolerant subjects submitted to long-lasting BZD treatment. The potential use of FLU to treat BZD withdrawal symptoms has also been evaluated tentatively in clinical studies...
Clinical Trials Related to Oxazepam
The Pharmacokinetics of Zidovudine and Oxazepam Alone and in Combination in the HIV-Infected Patient [Completed]
To determine if a pharmacokinetic (blood level) interaction exists between zidovudine (AZT)
and oxazepam in the HIV-infected patient. Benzodiazepines (such as oxazepam) are among the
most frequently prescribed class of drugs and are commonly used therapeutically for patients
with chronic disease. This study is important because of the potential for toxicity resulting
from a reaction between AZT and benzodiazepines and the likelihood of frequent use of the
combination of these drugs in patients with HIV infection.
A Placebo-Controlled Study of a Combination of Metyrapone and Oxazepam in Cocaine Addiction [Recruiting]
Subjects will be randomly assigned to receive either one of the two potential dose
combinations of the study medications or placebo over 6 weeks. The study will include twice
weekly visits to the research clinic for laboratory studies, safety assessments and urine
drug screens. Subjects will also be questioned regarding drug craving and mood symptoms.
Discontinuation of Antipsychotics and Antidepressants Among Patients With BPSD [Completed]
Dementia Antipsychotics And Antidepressants Discontinuation Study [Recruiting]
Acamprosate Initiated During Alcohol Detoxification [Active, not recruiting]
Acamprosate is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of
alcoholism. The purpose of this study is to see if initiating acamprosate early in alcohol
detoxification instead of waiting until detoxification has been completed effects the course
of detoxification, adverse events during detoxification, drop out rate during the
rehabilitative treatment phase, or overall efficacy of acamprosate for those with alcohol
dependence who plan to receive at least two months of rehabilitative pharmacotherapy with
acamprosate.
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PATIENT REVIEWS / RATINGS / COMMENTSBased on a total of 2 ratings/reviews, Oxazepam has an overall score of 9. The effectiveness score is 9 and the side effect score is 8. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst.
| | Oxazepam review by 46 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | |  |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Anxiety due to Relationship Stress |
| Dosage & duration: | | 10mg twice per day taken only as needed for stress for the period of 6 months irregularly; as needed |
| Other conditions: | | None |
| Other drugs taken: | | None | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | I would get heart palpitations and major stress hours before my ex would come and pick up our daughter for visits; I also had difficulty sleeping if I had to deal with any issues with him; I would take one of these pills, only if I felt I needed and sometimes an hour before he would pick her up, and I would feel much calmer. It was a life saver for me until I got through the emotional upset and was able to detach. |
| Side effects: | | Virtually no side effects, other than very slight drowsiness several hours after taking it...almost not noticeable. |
| Comments: | | I was on a very small dose. And I only took this when I felt I needed it. It was a life saver and kept my body from experiencing intense stress like shaking, heart palpitations, and emotional upset. It did not change my mood. It only controlled the negative physical effect that I was allowing this person to have on me. |
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| | Oxazepam review by 45 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | |  |
| Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
| Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | insomnia |
| Dosage & duration: | | 10 mg taken one per night as needed for the period of on and off over the course of three year |
| Other conditions: | | none |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | This drug helped me to be able to fall sleep during an extremely stressful period in my life when I simply could not fall asleep. I had tried many herbal sleep remedies, homeopathics, melatonin supplements, acupuncture and so forth, but the Serax was the only thing that helped me. Initially during treatment I would be able to sleep 4-6 hours which was a huge benefit to me as I was exhausted from insomnia and stress. |
| Side effects: | | Sometimes I would feel a slight tension in my head the next morning, but this was better than total exhaustion from sleeplessness. More recently I find that on the rare occasions that I use Serax, I wake up with a headache if I take a full capsule. I find using a half a capsule seems to work fine without giving me a headache. |
| Comments: | | My doctor tried various antidepressant type sleep medications to help me to sleep but they did not help at all. They left me feeling groggy and with a strange disconnected feeling. We also tried Ambien but this only helped me get about 2 hours of sleep and then I'd wake up and feel strange. The Serax worked for me to help me fall asleep when I couldn't sleep, and to stay asleep for 4-6 hours. Also there were hardly any side effects except for the slight headache. I had no trouble going off the medication during the times when I no longer needed it. Sometimes I would taper from 1 capsule to 1/2 capsule per night, or one night on and one night off the medication, but most times I simply stopped using it when I no longer needed it. I still use a half a capsule occasionally when I travel if I have trouble falling asleep. |
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Page last updated: 2009-11-19
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