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Halcion

Triazolam (marketed under brand names Halcion®, Novodorm®, Songar®) is a drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. It possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. more...

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History

In the past, triazolam was commonly prescribed to individuals who frequently changed time zones, such as business people and politicians travelling overseas. However, this practice has been discouraged, because these individuals would on occasion wake up with total amnesia and have no knowledge of where they were, or why they were there. In rare cases, paranoia would ensue.

Pharmacology

See Diazepam#Pharmacology.

Indications

Triazolam is commonly prescribed for insomnia because of its fast onset of action, and short half-life (approximately 3 hours). This makes it ideal for this use because it thereby avoids morning drowsiness.

Dosage

Dosages for triazolam are significantly lower than other benzodiazepines, and should be individualized depending on the needs of the patient. For insomnia, 0.125mg to 0.25mg are given at bedtime. Up to 0.5mg may be needed for resistent individuals. Dosage should never exceed 0.5mg.

Side Effects

See Diazepam#Side_Effects.

Interactions

See Diazepam#Interactions.

Contraindications

See Diazepam#Contraindications.

Overdose

See Diazepam#Overdose.

Safety

The safety of triazolam is questionable, because it has a fairly narrow therapeutic window. Also, evidence suggests long-term use (beyond 14 days) can cause hallucinations, amnesia, paranoia and aggressive behaviors. Also, like most other short acting benzodiazepines, it has a high potential for misuse, abuse and addiction.

Halcion belongs to the Pregnancy Category X of the FDA. This means that it is known to cause birth defects in the unborn baby. On October 2, 1991, the Committee on the Safety of Medicines (CSM) banned sales of Triazolam in the UK after concluding that it had a higher frequency of psychiatric side-effects than other hypnotics.

Legal Status

Internationally, triazolam is a Schedule IV drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

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Message in a bottle: how drug names hook consumers
From Psychology Today, 7/1/03

If a drug is judged by the way it affects our minds, then many pharmaceutical brand names could count as active ingredients. Take the granddaddy of today's antidepressants which has a positive prefix "pro" and the fast-sounding morpheme "zac." Halcion, which is used to treat insomnia and anxiety, is phonetically identical to "halcyon"--an adjective meaning "calm" or "undisturbed." The vocabulary becomes even more basic with soporifics such as Restoril and Placidyl.

The pharmaceutical industry pays huge sums to branding companies that engage in syllabic magic for all drugs, not just psychotropics, Often the meaning is secondary to the sound, says Jonathan Metzl, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Paxil, for example, begins with a "plosive" sound that suggests power; indeed, 20 percent of the 200 best-selling drugs in 2001 have names that begin with plosive letters P, T or D, according to the Source Prescription Audit. And drugs like Zoloft and Xanax make use of fricatives--letters such as X, F, S and Z implying speed--to convey that a drug is fast-acting.

THE NAME GAME

Match the drug with the condition it's used to treat.

KEY 1, F: Elavil is an anti depressant that "elevates one's mood." * 2, E: Ambien is a sleeping pill that combines "AM" and "bien," Spanish and French for "good." * 3, D: Provigil fights nacrolepsy, or excessive daytime sleepiness, by promoting abstinence from sleep (vigil). * 4, B: Cognex combine :cog" or cognition with the fricative :X" (fast). * 5, A: Serentil is an antipsychotic, this drug suggests serene or calm. * 6, C: Sarafem is an antidepresant used to treat mood disorders associated with premenstrual dysphoric. Sara, a female name, is paired with "fem."

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