Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
National Centre on Addiction and Doping, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Curr Pharm Des. 2022;28(15):1221-1229. doi: 10.2174/1381612827666210917145636.
Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are a widely prescribed class of sedative-hypnotics compounds for the treatment of a broad range of conditions as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, phobias, sleep-related problems associated with insomnia, and for the management of alcohol and GHB withdrawal. Zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon, commonly known as Z-drugs, are non-benzodiazepine hypnotic drugs with pharmacology similar to BDZs. Despite their usefulness, BDZs and Z-drugs present a potential for abuse and dependence. Moreover, the non-medical use of BDZs is a well-known phenomenon and represents an increasingly widespread public health problem since it is associated with an elevated risk of serious health consequences or fatal overdose, especially among specific group of users. The spectrum of BDZs and Z-drugs misuse is extended by new synthetic BDZs, which may pose high risks to users, since the majority have never undergone clinical trials or tests and consequently their pharmacology and toxicology are largely unknown.
苯二氮䓬类药物（BZDs）是一类广泛应用的镇静催眠药物，可用于治疗多种疾病，如焦虑和强迫症、恐惧症、与失眠相关的睡眠问题，以及用于治疗酒精和 GHB 戒断。唑吡坦、佐匹克隆和扎来普隆，通常被称为 Z 类药物，是具有与 BZDs 相似药理学作用的非苯二氮䓬类催眠药物。尽管它们具有一定的用处，但 BZDs 和 Z 类药物存在滥用和依赖的潜在风险。此外，苯二氮䓬类药物的非医疗用途是一个众所周知的现象，也是一个日益广泛的公共卫生问题，因为它与严重健康后果或致命过量的风险增加有关，特别是在特定的用户群体中。新型合成苯二氮䓬类药物的滥用范围扩大了 BZDs 和 Z 类药物的滥用范围，这些药物可能对使用者构成很高的风险，因为它们中的大多数都从未经过临床试验或测试，因此它们的药理学和毒理学在很大程度上是未知的。
