Multifocal cognitive dysfunction in high-dose benzodiazepine users: a cross-sectional study

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• 作者：Angela Federico ; Stefano Tamburin ; Alice Maier ; Marco Faccini…
• 关键词：Attention ; Benzodiazepine ; Clinical neuropsychology ; Drug abuse ; Executive functions ; Memory
• 刊名：Neurological Sciences
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：38
• 期：1
• 页码：137-142
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Medicine
• 刊物主题：Neurology; Neuroradiology; Neurosurgery; Psychiatry;
• 出版者：Springer Milan
• ISSN：1590-3478
• 卷排序：38

文摘

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are the most widely prescribed drug class in developed countries, but they have high potential for tolerance, dependence and abuse. Cognitive deficits in long-term BZD users have long been known, but previous results might have been biased by patients’ old age, coexisting neurological or psychiatric conditions or concurrent alcohol or psychotropic drug dependence. The study was aimed to explore the neuropsychological effect of high-dose BZD dependence, which represents an emerging addiction phenomenon. We recruited a group of high-dose BZD users with neither neurological or psychiatric comorbidity except anxiety or depression nor concurrent alcohol or psychotropic drug dependence. They underwent a battery of cognitive tests to explore verbal, visuospatial memory, working memory, attention, and executive functions. All the neuropsychological measures were significantly worse in patients than controls, and some of them were influenced by the BZD cumulative dose. The severity of depression and anxiety had a minimal influence on cognitive tests. Patients with high-dose BZD intake show profound changes in cognitive function. The impact of cognition should be considered in this population of patients, who may be involved in risky activities or have high work responsibilities.