Abstract
The daytime psychomotor performance of 12 healthy subjects of mean age 81.4 years was examined in a double-blind crossover study following single and repeated nightly doses of nitrazepam 5 mg, lormetazepam 1 mg, and placebo. Accuracy of performance on the Gibson spiral maze was unaffected by both drugs. On a reciprocal tapping task, speed was similarly unaffected. However, while neither drug significantly impaired accuracy on reciprocal tapping after the first dose, nitrazepam, but not lormetazepam, significantly reduced overall accuracy after seven consecutive doses, an effect consistent with drug accumulation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Breimer DD, Bracht H, de Boer AG (1977) Plasma level profile of nitrazepam (Mogadon) following oral administration. Br J Clin Pharmacol 4:709–711
Cook PJ, Huggett A, Graham-Pole R, Savage IT, James IM (1983) Hypnotic accumulation and hangover in elderly inpatients: a controlled double-blind study of temazepam and nitrazepam. Br Med J 1:100–102
Gibson HB (1978) Manual to the Gibson Spiral Maze. Hodder and Stoughton, Sevenoaks
Greenblatt DJ, Allen M (1978) Toxicity of nitrazepam in the elderly — a report from the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program. Br J Clin Pharmacol 5:407–413
Humpel M, Illi V, Milius W, Wendt H, Kurowski M (1979) The pharmacokinetics of a new benzodiazepine (lormetazepam) in humans. 1. Absorption, distribution, elimination and metabolism of lormetazepam-5–14 C. Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet 4:237–243
Humpel M, Nieuweboer B, Milius W, Hanke H, Wendt H (1980) Kinetics and biotransformation of lormetazepam. ii: Radioimmunologic determinations in plasma and urine in young and elderly subjects: first-pass effect. Clin Pharmacol Ther 28:673–679
Morgan K (1982) Effect of low-dose nitrazepam on performance in the elderly. Lancet 1:516
Morgan K (1983) Sedative-hypnotic drug use and ageing. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2:181–199
Oswald I, Adam K, Borrow S, Idzikowski C (1979) The effect of two hypnotics on sleep, subjective feelings, and skilled performance. In: Oswald I, Passouant P (eds) Pharmacology of the states of alertness. Pergamon, Oxford, pp 51–63
Pattie AH, Gilleard CJ (1979) Manual for the Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly (CAPE). Hodder and Stoughton, Sevenoaks
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Morgan, K. Effects of repeated dose nitrazepam and lormetazepam on psychomotor performance in the elderly. Psychopharmacology 86, 209–211 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00431711
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00431711