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In the elderly, long-term benzodiazepine therapy is a risk factor for amplifying cognitive decline, [29] although gradual withdrawal is associated with improved cognitive status. [30] A study of alprazolam found that 8 weeks administration of alprazolam resulted in deficits that were detectable after several weeks but not after 3.5 years. [31]
Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. [15] It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome. [15]
Adverse effects on cognition can be mistaken for the effects of old age. The benefits of withdrawal include improved cognition, alertness, mobility, reduced risk of incontinence, and a reduced risk of falls and fractures. The success of gradual-tapering benzodiazepines is as great in the elderly as in younger people.
The elderly have less cognitive reserve and are more sensitive to the short (e.g., in between dose withdrawal) and protracted withdrawal effects of benzodiazepines, as well as the side-effects both from short-term and long-term use. This can lead to excessive contact with their doctor.
Dion, who was taking Valium so she could perform, gradually built a tolerance and at one point was taking 90 milligrams a day — far beyond the maximum recommended dosage of 40 milligrams.
The authors, however, cited a study in younger patients who at a 3.5-year follow-up showed no memory impairments and speculated that certain memory functions take longer to recover from chronic benzodiazepine use and further improvements in elderly people's cognitive function may occur beyond 52 weeks after withdrawal.
Céline Dion revealed she would take up to 90mg of Valium per day to ease her stiff-person syndromes in her first TV interview since her diagnosis. "We tried a lot of things. Trying a lot of ...
“We previously looked into the effects of statin therapy in middle-aged people,” Mihaylova said. “The effects of statin therapy reported here across people 70 years of age and older are, as ...