The discovery of chlordiazepoxide and the clinical introduction of benzodiazepines: Half a century of anxiolytic drugs
The clinical introduction of chlordiazepoxide half a century ago was one of the major breakthroughs in the history of psychopharmacology, as it opened the door for the benzodiazepine saga, the pharmacological family par excellence in the treatment of anxiety disorders. This review analyses the disco...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2011 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC) |
| Repositorio: | Depósito Digital e-UCJC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositorio.ucjc.edu:20.500.12020/726 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12020/726 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Ciencias Biomédicas Psicología Chlordiazepoxide Benzodiazepines Anxiolytic drugs History of psychiatry Farmacología 3211 Psiquiatría 3209 Farmacología 3209.09 Psicofarmacología |
| Sumario: | The clinical introduction of chlordiazepoxide half a century ago was one of the major breakthroughs in the history of psychopharmacology, as it opened the door for the benzodiazepine saga, the pharmacological family par excellence in the treatment of anxiety disorders. This review analyses the discovery of this drug, which was filled with chance events, and numerous chemical and clinical errors of approach. Chlordiazepoxide, initially called methaminodiazepoxide, was patented in 1958 and introduced in clinical treatment in 1960 under the brand name Librium®. The benzodiazepines became the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, provided truly effective treatment for “minor forms” (neuroses) of mental disorders for the first time, increased the quality of scientific methodology in clinical research, and enabled the development of new etiopathogenic theories for anxiety disorders, especially after the discovery in 1977 of their high-affinity receptor complex. |
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