Oxazepam
Pronunciation:ox-A-zeh-pam (also pronounced ox-AZ-eh-pam)
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:604-75-1
Formal Names:Anxiolit, Serax, Serenid D
Type:Depressant (benzodiazepine class).Seepage 21
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule IV (DEA no. 2835)
USA Availability:Prescription
Pregnancy Category:C
Uses.This substance is a metabolite ofdiazepam, temazepam, chlordiaze-
poxide, andclorazepatedipotassium. Oxazepam’s primary medical usage is
to fight insomnia, hostility, and anxiety. Some researchers have found the drug
also works against depression. Studies show oxazepam, diazepam, andfluni-
trazepamto have about the same therapeutic effects, though not the same
strengths (oxazepam being the weakest). In the 1990s a survey of pharmacies
in Cracow, Poland, illustrated oxazepam’s worldwide popularity; around 14%
of benzodiazepine prescriptions were for oxazepam, predominantly to
women. One advantage of the drug is its safe “therapeutic ratio,” meaning
that the amount needed to produce a desired medical effect is far below the
amount needed to produce a poisonous effect. Thus medical practitioners have
considerable flexibility in adjusting dosage to an exact amount needed by a
patient.
Experimental use against tinnitus (ringing in the ears) has been promising.
Sometimes oxazepam is the preferred antianxiety medicine for alcoholics suf-
fering from cirrhosis, because a fully functioning liver is unnecessary to flush
the substance from the body. Oxazepam is used to alleviatealcoholwith-
drawal syndrome and has been used to treat neuroses and schizophrenia.
Oxazepam is considered appropriate for short-term treatment of agitation in
elderly persons suffering from dementia. Tests indicate the drug can reduce
hostility as well as anxiety, an ability that would set oxazepam apart from
other benzodiazepines. In a cat experiment, however, the drug increased pred-
ator behavior. The drug makes mice more combative. Rats kill more mice
when dosed with oxazepam, but researchers interpret that result as illustrating
potency of the drug rather than indicating it would promote aggression in
humans. Human oxazepam reactions that increase hostility and combativeness
are unusual and unexplained, although factors may include size and fre-