Valium (Diazepam) is a popular benzodiazepine medication prescribed for an array of conditions including: acute anxiety, alcohol withdrawal, insomnia, panic attacks, restless leg syndrome, and seizures. Like other benzodiazepines, diazepam functions as a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of GABAA receptors. Rather than binding to the same (“A”) subunit of GABAA receptors as the neurotransmitter GABA …
If you’re taking a psychiatric drug, you probably hope that you’re taking the one with the lowest overall risk. Sure you want the drug to be therapeutic and alleviate your symptoms, but you also don’t want to take a drug with a rapid tolerance onset, debilitating side effects, and crazy withdrawal symptoms. Many dangerous psychiatric …
Many drugs have anticholinergic properties, meaning they inhibit the neurotransmission of acetylcholine in the brain. Drugs with anticholinergic effects prevent acetylcholine from binding to receptors, resulting in therapeutic effects. There are three major types of anticholinergic drugs including: antimuscarinics, ganglionic inhibitors, and neuromuscular inhibitors – the majority being antimuscarinic. Anticholinergic drugs are often administered for …
Psychosis is a condition that is commonly associated with the mental illness schizophrenia. It is defined as a detachment from reality and hallmark symptoms include delusions (beliefs that aren’t based in reality) and hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling stimuli that aren’t real). Those with psychosis are usually admitted to a psychiatric ward and/or hospital and …
Just recently researchers were able to unveil the crystallized structure of translocator protein. It has long been thought that various polymorphisms of the TSPO gene create dysfunctional variations of the translocator protein (18 kDa). The 18 kDa translocator protein is hypothesized to contribute to certain mental illnesses, particularly anxiety disorders. The newly discovered crystallized structure …
In recent years, increasing evidence has suggested that certain types of commonly prescribed medications may cause increased risk of developing dementia. This ranges from drugs used to treat anxiety (e.g. Xanax) to over-the-counter drugs (e.g. Benadryl). A majority of these medications tend to depress activity in the CNS and help minimize arousal and/or anxiety. Dementia …
Xanax is considered a powerful benzodiazepine that works extremely well for anxiety. If you are experiencing a panic attack, popping a Xanax will quickly reduce all symptoms of stress and anxiety – both physical and mental. The problem with a medication like Xanax is that taking it not only may make it difficult to concentrate …