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Cited by 83Sleep and related disordersNeurological disorders and treatmentsTraumatic Brain Injury Research

Zolpidem for the Treatment of Neurologic Disorders: A Systematic Review

Bomalaski, Martin N., Claflin, Edward S., Townsend, Whitney, Peterson, Mark D.·2017·JAMA Neurology
DOI 10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.1133
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Abstract

Importance: Given its selective action on the ω1 subtype of the γ-aminobutyric acid A receptor, zolpidem tartrate presents a potential treatment mechanism for other neurologic disorders. Objective: To synthesize studies that used zolpidem to treat neurologic disorders. Evidence Review: Eligibility criteria included any published English-language article that examined the use of zolpidem for noninsomnia neurologic disorders in humans for all dates up to March 20, 2015. Searched databases included PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and clinicaltrials.gov. Publication bias was mitigated by searching clinicaltrials.gov for unpublished studies. Two rounds of screening were performed based on title and then abstract, and coding was performed by 2 coders. All methods followed the PRISMA Reporting Guidelines for systematic reviews of the literature. Findings: The initial search produced 2314 articles after removing duplicates. After exclusion based on a review of abstracts, 67 articles remained for full manuscript review. Thirty-one studies treated movement disorders, 22 treated disorders of consciousness, and 14 treated other neurologic conditions, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, encephalopathy, and dementia. Study designs included case reports (n = 28), case series (n = 8), single-patient interventional (n = 13), pretest and posttest (n = 9), randomized clinical trials (n = 9), and crossover studies (n = 5). Only 11 studies had more than 10 participants. Effects of zolpidem were wide ranging (eg, improvement on the JFK Coma Recovery Scale-Revised, the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale, and the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale) and generally lasted 1 to 4 hours before the participant returned to baseline. Sedation was the most common adverse effect. Conclusions and Relevance: Zolpidem has been observed to transiently treat a large variety of neurologic disorders, most often related to movement disorders and disorders of consciousness. Much of what is known comes from case reports and small interventional trials. These findings may represent a new treatment mechanism for these disorders.

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  • Zolpidem has shown stimulative effects in neurological conditions, temporarily awakening underactive neurons, suggesting a potential therapeutic use for neurodevelopmental disorders.

    “Surprisingly, zolpidem has shown stimulative effects in neurological conditions, temporarily awakening underactive neurons, suggesting a potential therapeutic use for neurodevelopmental disorders39.”

    From A foundation model for clinician-centered drug repurposing (2024) · cites this paper as [39]

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Authors
Bomalaski, M. N., Claflin, E. S., Townsend, W., & Peterson, M. D.
Affiliations
University of Michigan (US)
ORCID
Venue
JAMA Neurology
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
2017-09-01
Volume
74
Issue
9
Pages
1130
ISSN
2168-6149 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.1133
OpenAlex
W2646300788
Cited by
83
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2
FWCI
8.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • JAMA Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Neurological disorders and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Traumatic Brain Injury Research
Keywords
zolpidem, movement disorders, disorders of consciousness, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, stroke, traumatic brain injury, encephalopathy, dementia, sedation, off-label drug use, neurological disorders
MeSH terms
Zolpidem, Consciousness Disorders, Humans, Movement Disorders, Nervous System Diseases, Pyridines, GABA-A Receptor Agonists

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