Medical guidebooks
say the drugs bind
to receptors in the brain and spinal cord, intensifying the effects of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. "So pretty much it kind of tells your brain to slow down," creating a calming effect, said Stephanie Licata, a Harvard Medical School behavioral pharmacologist who studies the medications. In some people, that can lead to memory loss and impaired motor skills. John Steinberg, a physician and former medical director of the chemical dependency program at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, estimates that 10 to 20 percent of those taking the drugs for extended periods will have problems with dose escalation and physical dependence. "For a serious side effect, that's a fairly large, significant number," he said. "It is, after all, a devastating and debilitating adverse effect for those who experience it." qrypjzd0707 Benzodiazepine dependence has received greater attention in Great Britain than in the United States. In 2004, the British government took a stand in limiting prolonged use, issuing advice to all doctors that the drugs should be prescribed only for short periods.
Stan Starr, a 54-year-old financial consultant, sat in the back of the room filled with blue chairs, quietly tapping his Converse sneakers on the carpet. The 12 steps to recovery, enshrined by Alcoholics Anonymous, were printed in large black letters on a wall. But Starr was there because of a different drug -- a class of prescription medication called benzodiazepines. Five years ago, he couldn't sleep at night, his heart raced, he had wrenching stomach pains and felt as if his skin were crawling off his bones. He was in the midst of a 2 1/2 -year battle to withdraw from the drug Klonopin, which his psychiatrist had prescribed to him for anxiety. "I went through sheer living hell," he said. "I didn't know if I was going to make it." Benzodiazepines, often prescribed to manage anxiety, panic and sleep disorders, include Xanax, Ativan, Valium and Klonopin. Originally pushed as an alternative to barbiturates, their use has grown rapidly in the past 30 years. But critics say their long-term effects have gone largely unaddressed. Health professionals and consumers are increasingly recognizing that taking the drugs for more than a few weeks can lead to physical dependence, often ending with a grueling withdrawal.
The benefits of the drugs have been
heralded by both physicians and patients. a Web site where consumers can rate medicines, one person wrote in April that Xanax was the "best thing that ever happened to me." Another wrote in March, "This drug saved my massage." In 2008, 85 million prescriptions were filled for the top 20 benzodiazepines, an increase of 10 million over 2004, according to IMS Health, a health-care information company based in Norwalk, Conn. Those getting prescriptions in 2004 included 66,000 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a study released by Department of Veterans Affairs physicians last summer. Worldwide revenue for Xanax rose to $350 million last year, up nearly 50 percent from 2003, according to pharmaceutical company Pfizer's financial reports. Critics say benzodiazepines are broadly over-prescribed and can have serious side effects. Some patients find themselves on high dosages after a few years because their bodies need more of the drug to get the same effect, according to health experts.
