Source: Ear Hear  |  Posted 9 years ago

By Danny Kucharsky

Special to DG News

MONTREAL, QC - June 24, 2002 - Zaleplon may allow insomnia patients to have a more flexible lifestyle than other sleep medications, a study has found.

A cross-sectional study of 352 insomnia patients compared patient-reported effectiveness and satisfaction of the newer sedative hypnotics (such as zaleplon and zolpidem) compared to the older sedative hypnotics (such as trazodone and benzodiazepines). It was presented at the 23rd Collegium International Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum Congress.

According to Dr. Gary M. Levin, of the University of Florida Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine in Gainesville, patient-reported outcomes are important factors in the management and treatment of insomnia patients.

The study included 82 patients on zaleplon, 120 on zolpidem, 71 on trazodone and 79 on benzodiazepines. Seventy percent of patients were women, with a mean age of 53, and 70 percent or more suffered from trouble falling asleep or middle of the night awakening.

No significant differences were found between the newer and older sleep agents in such factors as satisfaction, effectiveness and activity performance.

However, a significantly higher percentage of patients (18 percent) used zaleplon for middle of the night awakening after experiencing difficulty sleeping compared with zolpidem (7 percent), benzodiazepines (6 percent) and trazodone (0 percent), p=0.001.

In addition, a significantly higher proportion of patients had to consider morning alertness in their choice of zolpidem (20 percent), benzodiazepines (30 percent) and trazodone (33 percent) than zaleplon (10 percent), p=0.01.

Only 8 percent of patients on zaleplon reported a "drugged feeling" as a side-effect, compared with 16 percent on zolpidem, 23 percent on benzodiazepines and 20 percent on trazodone, p=0.057.

Although there were no significant differences in "total sleep time" between the four hypnotic agents, it appears zaleplon "has the added benefit of allowing for a more versatile lifestyle," Dr. Levin said.

The study was supported by funding from Wyeth Research.