Flurazepam Health Article

Definition

Flurazepam is a benzodiazepine hypnotic (sleeping medication) that is given by mouth. It is sold in the United States under the brand name of Dalmane, but is also manufactured and sold by several companies under its generic name.

Purpose

Flurazepam is used for the short-term treatment of insomnia, which is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty in falling or staying asleep.

Description

Flurazepam is a benzodiazepine, which means that it belongs to a class of drugs whose primary action is to reduce the patient'sanxiety, relax the skeletal muscles, and bring on sleep. Flurazepam is chemically and pharmacologically related to such other benzodiazepine hypnotics as temazepam (Restoril), triazolam (Halcion), quazepam (Doral), and estazolam. All the benzodiazepines work by enhancing the effects of a naturally occurring chemical in the body called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA is a neurotransmitter, or chemical that helps to conduct nerve impulses across the tiny gaps between nerve cells. GABA acts to lower the level of activity in the central nervous system; it is involved in muscle relaxation, sedation, and sleep, and plays a role in preventing seizure activity.

Flurazepam decreases the time it takes the patient to fall asleep, thus reducing the number of nighttime awakenings and increasing the length of total sleep time. The difference between a benzodiazepine like flurazepam that is used to help patients fall asleep and those that are used as tranquilizers is the way that each type acts in the brain. The sleep-inducing benzodiazepines are faster in getting to the part of the brain that controls sleep. They also reach higher levels of concentration there than the benzodiazepines that are used as tranquilizers.

Flurazepam is available in 15- and 30-mg capsules.

Recommended dosage

The usual dose of flurazepam is 15–30 mg taken by mouth at bedtime. Older or physically weakened patients are usually given the lower dose. Women who are pregnant or nursing a baby, and children younger than 15 should not be given flurazepam. In addition, the drug should not be used for longer than four weeks.