Ketazolam

Therapeutic uses

It is used for the treatment of anxiety and has similar effectiveness compared to diazepam. Ketazolam also appears to produce reduced levels of side effects such as sedation compared with diazepam and the side effects when they occur tend to be milder. Ketazolam is also an effective antispasmodic drug and is used for the treatment of spasticity.

Availability

Ketazolam is not approved for sale in Norway, Australia, United Kingdom or the United States. In South Africa, GlaxoSmithKline markets ketazolam under its Solatran brand name. In Canada, ketazolam is listed in schedule IV of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, along with other benzodiazepines.

Tolerance and physical dependence

Chronic use of ketazolam as with other benzodiazepines can lead to physical dependence and the appearance of the benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome upon cessation of use or decrease in dose. Tolerance to ketazolam's therapeutic effects occurs over a period of 15 days.

Contraindications and special caution

Benzodiazepines require special precaution if used in the elderly, during pregnancy, in children, alcohol or drug-dependent individuals and individuals with comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Pharmacokinetics

Ketazolam breaks down in the blood to diazepam which breaks down to demoxepam which breaks down to desmethyldiazepam.

Warnings

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that in Spain, ketazolam marketed as Marcen may sometimes be mistakenly confused with Narcan.{{cite web |access-date=26 August 2006 |author-link=Food and Drug Administration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812000720/https://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/reports/confusingnames.html |archive-date=12 August 2006 |url-status=dead

Legal status

Ketazolam is a List 3 drug under the Betäubungsmittelgesetz, like almost all benzodiazepines in Germany. Ketazolam is a List II drugs of the Opium Law in the Netherlands. Ketazolam is a Schedule IV drug under the Controlled Substances Act in the US.

References

References

1. (July 2001). "Ketazolam". Acta Crystallographica Section C.
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4. (1980). "Anxiolytic efficacy and safety of ketazolam compared with diazepam and placebo". Clinical Therapeutics.
5. (1976). "Double-blind placebo-controlled efficacy study of ketazolam (U-28,774)". The Journal of International Medical Research.
6. (October 1980). "Ketazolam and diazepam in anxiety: a controlled study". Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
7. (August 1986). "Ketazolam once daily for spasticity: double-blind cross-over study". Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
8. (June 1988). "Management of spasticity". American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
9. (November 1984). "Ketazolam treatment for spasticity: double-blind study of a new drug". Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
10. "Benzodiazepine Names". The Tranquilliser Recovery and Awareness Place.
11. (12 November 1985). "SOLATRAN 15 (capsules) - SOLATRAN 30 (capsules)". South African Electronic Package Inserts.
12. "Controlled Drugs and Substances Act".
13. (1988). "The natural history of tolerance to the benzodiazepines". Psychological Medicine. Monograph Supplement.
14. (November 2009). "Benzodiazepine dependence: focus on withdrawal syndrome". Annales Pharmaceutiques Françaises.
15. (June 1984). "The decomposition of benzodiazepines during analysis by capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry". Biomedical Mass Spectrometry.
16. Drug Enforcement Administration (USA). "Drug Scheduling". United States Government.