Effects of chronic use of zolpidem to treat insomnia in the elderly and its relationship with Alzheimer's disease
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25118/2763-9037.2024.v14.1356Keywords:
Alzheimer’s disease, insomnia, zolpidem, adverse effects, sleep initiation and maintenance disorders, drug-related side effects and adverse reactionsAbstract
Introduction: Dementia is a chronic and progressive syndrome, marked by a significant decline in cognitive functions, primarily affecting abilities such as memory, reasoning, orientation, language, calculation, and judgment. There are various forms of dementia, each determined by the underlying disease with different clinical manifestations, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most prevalent. Among these patients, insomnia is one of the common sleep disturbances, present in 3.9 to 22.1% of the patients. Currently, zolpidem is the drug of first choice in the treatment of insomnia, providing benefits both for patients with difficulty falling asleep and for those with problems maintaining sleep. However, when used chronically, it presents several side effects such as: reduced libido, rebound insomnia, cognitive function deficits, development of tolerance and dependence, risk of falls, excessive sleepiness, morning sedation, and suicide. Insomnia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains a challenge in clinical practice. Objective: Thus, the objective of this article was to describe the effects of the use of zolpidem indicated for the treatment of insomnia and its relation to AD. Methodology: In this way, a literature review was carried out, with the selection of articles published in journals from the databases Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO) and National Library of Medicine/NLM (PUBMED). Results: The results found demonstrated that patients under chronic use of zolpidem presented a higher risk of developing AD. Conclusion: Therefore, greater monitoring is necessary in the prescription and follow-up of elderly patients using zolpidem.
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