List of Benzodiazepines : Types and Medicinal Use

Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2018/11/07 - Updated: 2024/08/23
Publication Type: Informative
Topic: Pharmaceuticals - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: Explanation of Benzodiazepines (Benzos) including a list of common Benzodiazepine brand and other names, their medical purpose and uses. It is not safe to drink alcohol or take other drugs that have similar effects on the central nervous system (CNS) at the same time.

Introduction

What Are Benzodiazepines (Benzos)?

Benzodiazepines, sometimes called "benzos", are a class of psychoactive drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. Benzodiazepines may be prescribed for short-term and long-term relief of severe and disabling anxiety. Common name Benzodiazepines include Valium and Xanax. Benzodiazepines are some of the most commonly prescribed medications in the U.S. They may also be indicated to cover latent periods associated with the medications prescribed to treat an underlying anxiety disorder, in fact, Benzodiazepines are used to treat a wide variety of conditions and symptoms.

Main Item

Benzodiazepines possess sedative, hypnotic, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, and amnesic actions, which are useful in a variety of indications such as alcohol dependence, seizures, anxiety disorders, panic, agitation, and insomnia. Most are administered orally; however, they can also be given intravenously, intramuscularly, or rectally. Benzodiazepines exert their anxiolytic properties at moderate dosage. At higher dosage hypnotic properties occur.

Benzodiazepines are prescribed by doctors and are legal when used as prescribed. It is illegal to use benzodiazepines without a prescription, or to give or sell them to other people. When people without prescriptions obtain and take these drugs for their sedating effects, use turns into abuse.

Short-term use of Benzodiazepine medications is generally safe and effective. However, long-term use is still controversial because of the potential for tolerance, dependence, and other adverse side effects. Mixing alcohol with benzodiazepines can be fatal. It is not safe to drink alcohol or take other drugs that have similar effects on the central nervous system (CNS) at the same time because these drugs or substances interact with oral benzodiazepines by causing additional depression of the brain and respiratory depression. Respiratory depression can lead to breathing that's inadequate for supplying oxygen to the body. This can result in death.

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Defining Terms Used in the Benzodiazepine Chart Below

• Anticonvulsants - Anticonvulsants (antiepileptic drugs or as antiseizure drugs) are a diverse group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, as many seem to act as mood stabilizers, and for treatment of neuropathic pain.
• Antidepressants - Antidepressant medications can reduce anxiety, and several selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been approved to treat various anxiety disorders. Antidepressants are especially beneficial because anxiety and depression often occur together.
• Anxiolytics - An anxiolytic (antipanic or antianxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that inhibits anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents, which increase anxiety.
• Hypnotic or Soporific Drugs - Commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia, or surgical anesthesia.
• Muscle Relaxants - Drugs that affect skeletal muscle function and decrease muscle tone, may be used to alleviate symptoms such as muscle spasms, pain, and hyperreflexia.

Two major therapeutic groups of muscle relaxant are:

• a) Neuromuscular blockers - Often used during surgical procedures, in intensive care and emergency medicine to cause temporary paralysis, neuromuscular blockers act by interfering with transmission at the neuromuscular end plate and have no central nervous system (CNS) activity.
• b) Spasmolytics - Used to alleviate musculoskeletal pain and spasms and to reduce spasticity in a variety of neurological conditions.

While both neuromuscular blockers and spasmolytics are often grouped together as muscle relaxants, the term is commonly used to refer to spasmolytics only.

List of Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepine Designer Drugs

The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines designer drugs as drugs "manufactured to chemically resemble illicit drugs but can often be purchased legally because manufacturers continually modify their chemical structures in order to circumvent drug laws." Only a handful of the 100's of designer drugs are classified as a benzodiazepine, they include:

• 3-Hydroxyphenazepam
• Adinazolam - (triazolobenzodiazepine)
• Bromazolam - (triazolobenzodiazepine)
• Clonazolam - (triazolobenzodiazepine)
• Cloniprazepam - (benzodiazepine)
• Desmethylflunitrazepam - (benzodiazepine)
• Diclazepam - (benzodiazepine)
• Flubromazepam - (benzodiazepine (inc Br, F))
• Flubromazolam - (triazolobenzodiazepine)
• Flunitrazolam - (triazolobenzodiazepine)
• Meclonazepam - (benzodiazepine)
• Nifoxipam- (benzodiazepine)
• Nimetazepam - (benzodiazepine)
• Nitrazolam - (triazolobenzodiazepine)
• Norflurazepam - (benzodiazepine)
• Pyrazolam - (triazolobenzodiazepine)

Related Information

• List of Generic Equivalents for Brand Name Drugs - List of brand name drugs and their Generic Equivalents sorted alphabetically by brand name and generic substitute - Disabled World
• Are Generic Drugs the Same as Brand Name Medications - Explains the differences and similarities between brand name drugs and their equivalent generic drug brands - Disabled World
• FDA Issues Guidance on Generic Abuse-Deterrent Opioid Development - Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb M.D. on steps to promote development of generic versions of opioids formulated to deter abuse - U.S. FDA

Author Credentials: Ian is an Australian-born writer, editor, and advocate who currently resides in Montreal, Canada. He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.