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Topiramate in benzodiazepine withdrawal
Author(s) -
Cheseaux Michel,
Monnat Martine,
Zullino Daniele F.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.497
Subject(s) - topiramate , benzodiazepine , anticonvulsant , locus coeruleus , antagonist , drug withdrawal , pharmacology , medicine , anesthesia , withdrawal syndrome , psychology , drug , neuroscience , epilepsy , central nervous system , receptor
There is an increasing interest in anticonvulsants for the treatment of benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms. The new anticonvulsant compound topiramate seems to be an especially promising drug for this indication. It acts, among others, as an AMPA antagonist, which may be responsible in part for its anticonvulsant efficacy, but may also modulate the withdrawal‐induced activation of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus, which are related to some behavioural effects of benzodiazepine withdrawal. A case is presented of a rapid benzodiazepine‐withdrawal treated successfully with topiramate. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.