176 Flurazepam
produced performance deficiencies reminiscent of those seen in humans with
flurazepam and also lowered inhibitions.
Cancer.No indication of a cancer-causing potential has emerged.
Pregnancy.Experiments with rats and rabbits produced no birth defects.
Researchers tracking assorted birth defects examined medical records of 50 to
99 women who took flurazepam during pregnancy and found no malforma-
tions in offspring. Nonetheless, birth defects are considered a serious risk from
the drug, and pregnant women are advised to avoid it. Newborns from moth-
ers using the drug may have “floppy infant syndrome” involving sedation,
inferior muscle tone, breathing trouble, and poor feeding.
Additional scientific information may be found in:Council on Drugs. “Evaluation of a New Hypnotic Agent—Flurazepam Hydrochloride
(Dalmane).”Journal of the American Medical Association218 (1971): 246.
De Wit, H., E.H. Uhlenhuth, and C.E. Johanson. “Lack of Preference for Fluraze-
pam in Normal Volunteers.”Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior21 (1984):
865–69.
“Flurazepam (Dalmane).”Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics17 (1975): 29–30.
Judd, L.L., E. Ellinwood, and L.A. McAdams. “Cognitive Performance and Mood in
Patients with Chronic Insomnia during 14-Day Use of Flurazepam and Mida-
zolam.”Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology10 (1990, Suppl.): S56–S67.
Juhl, R.P., V.M. Daugherty, and P.D. Kroboth. “Incidence of Next-Day Anterograde
Amnesia Caused by Flurazepam Hydrochloride and Triazolam.”Clinical Phar-
macy3 (1984): 622–25.
Mendelson, W.B., et al. “A Clinical Study of Flurazepam.”Sleep5 (1982): 350–60.
Wesnes, K., and D.M. Warburton. “A Comparison of Temazepam and Flurazepam in
Terms of Sleep Quality and Residual Changes in Performance.”Neuropsycho-
biology11 (1984): 255–59.
Younus, M., and M.J. Labellarte. “Insomnia in Children: When Are Hypnotics Indi-
cated?”Paediatric Drugs4 (2002): 391–403.