Loprazolam is a
1,4-benzodiazepine with
hypnotic properties, advocated for use in acute or
chronic insomnia. As
loprazolam has a half-life of 7 to 8 hours in healthy adults it may have advantages over longer-acting
hypnotics, particularly when residual
sedative effects on the day after ingestion are undesirable, although at doses greater than 1 mg residual sedation may occur. In addition, it may reduce daytime anxiety, following a
hypnotic dose the night before, more effectively than the short-acting
drug,
triazolam. In short term comparative studies
loprazolam was clearly superior to placebo, and was at least as effective as
triazolam,
flurazepam,
nitrazepam,
flunitrazepam or
temazepam in hastening sleep onset, reducing nocturnal awakenings and increasing total sleep duration and quality. In the small number of patients with
chronic insomnia who have received extended treatment with
loprazolam, no evidence of tolerance has occurred, although
rebound insomnia was evident 3 days after
drug withdrawal in several studies. Thus, with its 'intermediate' elimination half-life,
loprazolam would appear to have some potential advantages over both long- and short-acting
hypnotics in selected patients, although further studies are needed to fully elucidate its place in
therapy.