Disinhibitory Effect of Benzodiazepines When benzodiazepines are prescribed for anxiety and the behavioral disorders of dementia, there is a well-documented risk of dizziness, sedation, falls, fractures subsequent to falls, and cognitive impairment associated with these agents in the elderly. In addition, the concept of disinhibition should be considered as a possible complication of therapy in this population. The release of previously suppressed behavior has been called the disinhibitory effect. “Benzodiazepines dilute the controlling capacity of the ego, allowing one to lose the intensity of normal control mechanisms,” says Lucy Rea Sarkis, M.D., Executive Director, South Beach Psychiatric Center, Staten Island, NY. “The premorbid personality determines how disinhibition is …
[ Continue Reading... ]Category: Anxiety Disorder
Behavioral disturbances in the elderly are probably the most important facet of dementia prompting institutionalization. The referral for pharmacologic intervention is often the result of the need for management of mood and behavior. Symptoms tend to be superficially described as “agitated,” “combative,” “depressed,” “acting out,” “inappropriately accusing,” etc., by spouses, family members, and caregivers. Dementia may be the most common cause of anxiety in the elderly, with an increased risk of anxiety seen in patients initially transferred to a long-term care facility from the hospital or from home. Trauma or a stressful event may induce an acute, short-lived, situational anxiety. Anxiety disorders (also known as anxiety and phobic neuroses) are classified …
[ Continue Reading... ]Generalized anxiety disorder is one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses, yet experts estimate that it affects five to ten percent of the world population. This week at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Chicago, the International Consensus Group on Depression and Anxiety announced the results of their recent meeting on this condition, also referred to as generalized anxiety gisorder. The consensus meeting on generalized anxiety gisorder, attended by an international group of psychiatric experts, took place in March of this year. Their principal findings, presented in Chicago, summarize the available data on this condition. “The medical community has learned much about this devastating anxiety disorder in recent …
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