Description
What is Nitrazepam (Mogadon)?
Nitrazepam is a medication which is widely prescribed for the short-term treatment of insomnia and other sleep disorders. It belongs to the benzodiazepine family of medicines and its sedative effects help patients to relieve stress and relax more easily.
In the late 1950s, chlordiazepoxide (Librium) was the first benzodiazepine to be developed and was marketed for the treatment of anxiety early in the 1960s. This particular benzodiazepine tablet is a refined version of the original medication, and was designed to treat sleeping disorders in 1972 under the brand name Mogadon.
As with all benzodiazepine medicines, experts aren’t exactly sure how it works, most scientists think its effects are due to the drug’s ability to boost the calming chemicals in the brain known as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors.
Today there is a whole range of benzos available, and the two main differences between this variety is the length of time they are active in the body. This is measured by the half-life of each drug.
Short-acting benzodiazepines have a short half-life, which means they are processed more quickly and leave your body faster. Short-acting drugs have a greater risk of withdrawal symptoms because the body has less time to adjust itself to working without the drug.
Long-acting benzos have a long half-life, so the drugs are pass through the patient’s system at a slower rate and take more time to leave the body. Patients are more likely to experience a hangover effect, but there is a reduced likelihood of experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
After nearly fifty years of medical use, this long acting benzodiazepine has been proven to have; sedative, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant effects, and millions of insomnia sufferers have benefited because it shortens the time taken to fall asleep and increases the duration of sleep.
This medicine should only be used in adults and the elderly for the short-term treatment of insomnia.
