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Zaleplon

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Abstract

▴ Zaleplon is a nonbenzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic which acts as a selective agonist at the benzodiazepine ω1 (type 1) receptor.

▴ In comparison with placebo, zaleplon 10mg taken at bedtime has been shown to significantly reduce sleep latency in both polysomnographic and subjective assessments.

▴ Zaleplon 5 and 10mg significantly reduced median time to sleep onset compared with placebo after the first and second weeks of a randomised double-blind study in 422 elderly patients with insomnia. Similarly, zaleplon 10 and 20mg significantly reduced subjective sleep latency from that with placebo throughout a 4-week trial in 574 patients with insomnia.

▴ There was no evidence of next-day psychomotor impairment with zaleplon 10mg. In contrast, significant impairments were seen with flurazepam 30mg, zolpidem 20mg, triazolam 0.25mg and zopiclone 7.5mg in some comparative trials.

▴ The tolerability profile of zaleplon was similar to that of placebo in clinical trials, and use of zaleplon was not associated with rebound insomnia or other withdrawal effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adis International Limited, 41 Centorian Drive, Private Bag 65901, Mairangi Bay, Auckland 10, New Zealand

    Miriam Hurst & Stuart Noble

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  1. Miriam Hurst
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  2. Stuart Noble
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Correspondence to Miriam Hurst.

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Hurst, M., Noble, S. Zaleplon. Mol Diag Ther 11, 387–392 (1999). https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-199911050-00006

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