 |
 |
There are 29 articles in the Archives on Zolpidem, also known as Ambien. This is one that I remembered and sought out. Will try to get an address to you also. Barb Brock Date:10/05/97 06:08From: <">"J.R. Bruman" > Subject:Zolpidem (Ambien) <Picture> (9 May 1997) Zolpidem (Ambien): This will be duly noted in the Jun CSR, but it's too good to hold until then: In Lancet; 26 April 1997:1222-1223 (which just arrived), Daniele A et al report a 61-yr old woman with PD for 25 years, whom they gave Zolpiden, a short-term hypnotic, for insomnia. She didn't get drowsy, but her akinesia and rigidity improved substantially. So they continued with 10mg Zolpiden 4 times a day, and discontinued her dopaminergic medication. For the past 5 yr her parkinson symptoms have been relieved, without dyskinesia or other side effects. So they did a double- blind crossover trial on 10 other PD patients, of whom 6 (3 advanced and 3 early-stage) showed improvement. They now suggest that Zolpidem may offer the pharmacological equivalent of posteroventral pallidotomy, in a subgroup of patients. Zolpidem (Ambien) is a selective agonist of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), active mainly in the basal ganglia. The suggestion that a GABA agonist might be helpful in PD appeared nearly 10 years ago, but this is the first supporting evidence. Cheers, Joe J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694 3527 Cody Road Sherman Oaks CA 91403