Posted by mtdewcmu on April 29, 2011, at 17:25:11
In reply to less cognitive decline w/ zopiclone vs lorazepam?, posted by iforgotmypassword on April 29, 2011, at 12:37:27
I did not read the entire wikipedia article, but my general feeling is that benzo-associated brain atrophy and cognitive decline is probably not properly considered neurotoxicity the way alcohol addiction or methamphetamine addiction causes it. I think of it as more like the way your muscles atrophy when you don't use them. Zopiclone, if used for sleep, would probably cause less decline, since the effects have a chance to wear off. I'm not aware of any well-known acute neurotoxicity syndrome from benzos, although withdrawal seizures would not be good for your brain, or even going through a too-rapid withdrawal in the absence of seizures. Benzodiazepines are more often mentioned as neuroprotective in studies of other sources of neurotoxicity.
But if you are benzoed-out for decades, it is probably no better for you than being constantly stoned on pot or addicted to heroin for a similar length of time. That is partly why they are considered 3rd-line or 4th-line treatments for chronic psych disorders. But it's still fairly early in the use of SSRIs and newer ADs. I would not be too surprised to find that long-term use causes a similar kind of progressive atrophy.
That article deals a lot with the elderly, and the elderly typically always get the worst effects from meds. It takes a very small push to put them in a state of delirium.
poster:mtdewcmu
thread:984064
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110418/msgs/984090.html