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Current Pharmaceutical Design

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ISSN (Print): 1381-6128
ISSN (Online): 1873-4286

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Review Article

BDZs, Designer BDZs and Z-drugs: Pharmacology and Misuse Insights

Author(s): Simona Zaami, Silvia Graziano, Roberta Tittarelli, Renata Beck and Enrico Marinelli*

Volume 28, Issue 15, 2022

Published on: 17 September, 2021

Page: [1221 - 1229] Pages: 9

DOI: 10.2174/1381612827666210917145636

Price: $65

Abstract

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are a widely prescribed class of sedative-hypnotics compounds for the treatment of a broad range of conditions as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, phobias, sleep-related problems associated with insomnia, and for the management of alcohol and GHB withdrawal. Zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon, commonly known as Z-drugs, are non-benzodiazepine hypnotic drugs with pharmacology similar to BDZs. Despite their usefulness, BDZs and Z-drugs present a potential for abuse and dependence. Moreover, the non-medical use of BDZs is a well-known phenomenon and represents an increasingly widespread public health problem since it is associated with an elevated risk of serious health consequences or fatal overdose, especially among specific group of users. The spectrum of BDZs and Z-drugs misuse is extended by new synthetic BDZs, which may pose high risks to users, since the majority have never undergone clinical trials or tests and consequently their pharmacology and toxicology are largely unknown.

Keywords: BDZs, Z-drugs, new BDZs, diversion, abuse, misuse, pharmacology.

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