Can valerian improve the sleep of insomniacs after benzodiazepine withdrawal?
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
; 26(3): 539-45, 2002 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-11999905
PURPOSE: The authors studied the sleep of patients with insomnia who complained of poor sleep despite chronic use of benzodiazepines (BZDs). The sample consisted of 19 patients (mean age 43.3+/-10.6 years) with primary insomnia (DSM-IV), who had taken BZDs nightly, for 7.1+/-5.4 years. The control group was composed of 18 healthy individuals (mean age 37+/-8 years). Sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) of the patients was analyzed with period amplitude analysis (PAA) and associated algorithms, during chronic BZD use (Night 1), and after 15 days of a valerian placebo trial (initiated after washout of BZD, Night 2). Sleep of control subjects was monitored in parallel. RESULTS: Valerian subjects reported significantly better subjective sleep quality than placebo ones, after BZD withdrawal, despite the presence of a few side effects. However, some of the differences found in sleep structure between Night 1 and Night 2 in both the valerian and placebo groups may be due to the sleep recovery process after BZD washout. Example of this are: the decrease in Sleep Stage 2 and in sigma count; the increase in slow-wave sleep (SWS), and delta count, which were found to be altered by BZD ingestion. There was a significant decrease in wake time after sleep onset (WASO) in valerian subjects when compared to placebo subjects; results were similar to normal controls. Nonetheless, valerian-treated patients also presented longer sleep latency and increased alpha count in SWS than control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in WASO associated with the mild anxiolytic effect of valerian appeared to be the major contributor to subjective sleep quality improvement found after 2-week of treatment in insomniacs who had withdrawn from BDZs. Despite subjective improvement, sleep data showed that valerian did not produce faster sleep onset; the increase in alpha count compared with normal controls may point to residual hyperarousabilty, which is known to play a role in insomnia. Nonetheless, we lack data on the extent to which a sedative drug can improve alpha sleep EEG. Thus, the authors suggest that valerian had a positive effect on withdrawal from BDZ use.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Sono
/
Síndrome de Abstinência a Substâncias
/
Valeriana
/
Benzodiazepinas
/
Iridoides
/
Distúrbios do Início e da Manutenção do Sono
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
Limite:
Adult
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Female
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
Ano de publicação:
2002
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Brasil
País de publicação:
Reino Unido