-
Sleep medication linked to bizarre
behaviour
New evidence has linked a commonly
prescribed sleep medication with bizarre
behaviours
，
including
a
case
in
which
a
woman
painted
her
front
door
in
her
sleep.
UK and Australian health
agencies have released information about 240 cases
of odd
occurrences
，
including
sleepwalking
，
amnesia and
hallucinations among
people taking the
drug zolpidem.
While doctors say that zolpidem can
offer much-needed relief for people with
sleep disorders
，
they caution that these newly reported cases
should prompt a
closer look at its
possible side effects.
Zolpidem
，
sold
under
the
brand
names
Ambien
，
Stilnoct
and
Stilnox
，
is
widely
prescribed
to
treat
insomnia
and
other
disorders
such
as
sleep
apnea.
Various
forms
of
the
drug
，
made
by
French
pharmaceutical
giant
Sanofi-Aventis
，
were
prescribed
674
，
500 times in
2005 in the UK.
A
newly
published
report
from
Australia’s
Federal
Health
Department
describes
104 cases of
hallucinations and 62 cases of amnesia experienced
by people taking
zolpidem since
marketing of the drug began there in 2000. The
health department
report also mentioned
16 cases of strangesleepwalking by people taking
the
medication.
Midnight snack
In one of these sleepwalking cases a
patient woke with a paintbrush in her
hand after painting the front door to
her house. Another case involved a woman
who gained 23 kilograms over seven
months while taking zolpidem. “It was only
when she was discovered in front of an
open refrigerator while asleep that the
problem was resolved
，”
according to the report.
The UK’s Medicines and
Healthcare products Regulatory Agency，
meanwhile
，
has
recorded 68 cases of adverse reactions to zolpidem
from 2001 to 2005.
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The
newly
reported
cases
in
the
UK
and
Australia
add
to
a
growing
list
of
bizarre
sleepwalking
episodes linked to the drug in other
countries
，
including reports
of people sleep-driving while on the
medication. In one case
，
a
transatlantic
flight had to be diverted
after a passenger caused havoc after taking
zolpidem.
Hypnotic effects
There is no biological
pathway that has been proven to connect zolpidem
with
these behaviours. The drug is a
benzodiazepine-like hypnotic that promotes deep
sleep
by
interacting
with
brain
receptors
for
a
chemical
called
gamma-aminobutyric
acid. While parts of the brain become
less active during deep
sleep
，
the body
can still move
，
making sleepwalking a possibility.
The product information for
prescribers advises that psychiatric adverse
effects
，
including
hallucinations
，
sleepwalking
and
nightmares
，
are
more
likely
in
the elderly
，
and treatment
should be stopped if they occur.
Patient advocacy groups say
they would like government health agencies and
drug companies to take a closer look at
the possible risks associated with sleep
medicines. They stress that strange
sleepwalking and sleep-driving behaviours can
have risky consequences.
“When people do something
in which they’re not in full control it’s always
a danger
，” says Vera Sharav
of the New York
-based Alliance for
Human Research
Protection
，
a US
network that advocates responsible and ethical
medical research
practices.
Tried and tested
“The more
reports that come out
about the
potential side effects of the
drug，
the
more
research
needs
to
be
done
to
understand
if
these
are
real
side
effects
，”
says sleep researcher Kenneth Wright at
the University of Colorado in
Boulder
，
US.
Millions of
people have taken the drug without experiencing
any strange side
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< br>effects
，
points out
Richard Millman at Brown Medical
School
，
director of the
Sleep Disorders Center of Lifespan
Hospitals in Providence
，
Rhode Island
，
US.
He says that unlike older types of
sleep medications
，
zolpidem
does not carry
as great a risk of
addiction.
And
Wright
notes
that
some
of
the
reports
of
“sleep
-
driving”
linke
d
to
zolpidem
can be easily
explained
：
some patients
have wrongly taken the drug right before
leaving work in hopes that the medicine
will kick in by the time they reach home.
Doctors stress that the medication
should be taken just before going to bed.
The
US
Food
&
Drug
Administration
says
it
is
continuing
to
investigate
and
collect information about cases linking zolpidem
to unusual side effects.
The Ambien label currently lists
strange behaviour as a “special concern”
for people taking the
drug.
“It’s a possible rare adverse event，” says
Sanofi-Aventis
spokesperson
Melissa
Feltmann
，
adding
that
the
strange
sleepwalking
behaviours “may
not necessarily be caused by the drug” but instead
result from
an underlying disorder. She
says that “the s
afety profile [of
zolpidem] is well
established”. The
drug received approval in the US in
1993.
Questions 1-6
Do
the following statements agree with the
information given
in the reading
passage
？
In boxes 1-6 on your answer
sheet write
TRUE if the statement is true according
to the passage
FALSE if the statement is false
according to the passage
NOT GIVEN if the information is not
given in the passage
1. Ambien
，
Stilnoct and Stilnox are brand names of one same
drug treating
insomnia.
2. The wo
man’s
obesity problem wasn’t resolved until she stopped
taking
zolpidem.
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3. Zolpidem received approval in the UK
in 2001.
4. The
bizarre behaviour of a passenger after taking
zolpidem resulted in the
diversion of a
flight bound for the other side of the Atlantic.
5. Zolpidem is
the only sleep medication that doesn’t cause
addiction.
6. The sleep-driving occurrence
resulted from the wrong use of zolpidem by
an office worker.
Question 7-9
Choose the appropriate letters A-D and
Write them in boxes
7-9 on your answer
sheet.
7. How
many cases of bizarre behaviours are described in
an official report
from
Australia
？
A. 68
B. 104
C. 182
D. 240
8. Which of the following
is NOT mentioned in the product information about
zolpidem
？
A. Treatment
should be stopped if side effects occur.
B. Medication
should be taken just before going to bed.
C. Adverse
effects are more likely in the elderly.
D. Side effects
include nightmares
，
hallucinations and sleepwalking.
9. Who claimed that the
safety description of zolpidem was well
established
？
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