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Cognitive impairment in long-term benzodiazepine users

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Susan Golombok ,
Parimala Moodley  and
Malcolm Lader
Susan Golombok*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Parimala Moodley
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Malcolm Lader
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1Address for correspondence. Dr Susan Golombok, Department of Social Science and Humanities, The City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V OHB.
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Synopsis

In view of the very extensive and often prolonged use of benzodiazepines in therapeutic practice, this study was designed to investigate whether or not cognitive ability is impaired in longterm benzodiazepine users, and to determine the nature and extent of any deficit. Fifty patients currently taking benzodiazepines for at least one year, thirty-four who had stopped taking benzodiazepines, and a matched control group of subjects who had never taken benzodiazepines or who had taken benzodiazepines in the past for less than one year were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests designed to measure a wide range of cognitive functions. It was found that patients taking high doses of benzodiazepines for long periods of time perform poorly on tasks involving visual-spatial ability and sustained attention. This is consistent with deficits in posterior cortical cognitive function.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , May 1988 , pp. 365 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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