All Articles
Browse every published article, from the latest research to earlier analysis. Use the page numbers below to explore the complete archive.
A Benzodiazepine Association With Overdose Did Not Persist as the Same Adjusted Predictor
A signal in a simple comparison can change after other variables are considered. A study of 222 patients transported with impaired consciousness compared overdose cases with other causes.
A Mixed Midazolam–Propofol Comparison Cannot Identify Midazolam’s Independent Mortality Effect
A comparison against several usual sedatives does not isolate the effect of one benzodiazepine. A retrospective COVID-19 ARDS cohort compared thirty-four patients receiving ketamine with ninety receiving other sedatives, including propofol and midazolam.
A Lorazepam Response in a Cannabis-Associated Catatonia Case Did Not Prove Cannabis Causation
Response to a treatment and identification of the original trigger are separate evidentiary questions. A report described malignant catatonia after heavy reported cannabis use.
Benzodiazepine Associations in an Overdose Survey Depended on the Time Window Studied
Lifetime overdose and overdose in the past year are different outcomes with different exposure relationships. Rapid assessments in eight Massachusetts communities analyzed 469 participants recruited through nonprobability methods.
Catatonia in Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis Persisted Despite a Clonazepam-Containing Regimen
Persistent catatonia during benzodiazepine treatment can coexist with an active neurological disease. A case report described a young woman with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and severe psychiatric and catatonic symptoms.
Diazepam Was Part of Treatment After Antipsychotic-Associated Movement Symptoms During Alcohol Withdrawal
The medicine given later in a hospital course may be treating a complication of an earlier exposure. A case report described a man treated for alcohol-withdrawal symptoms with repeated chlorpromazine injections.
A Hospital Fall Series Without Nonfalling Controls Cannot Rank the Risk of Individual Sleeping Pills
Counting medicines among people who fell is not the same as estimating the risk among everyone who received those medicines. A Japanese hospital review recorded 726 falls in 442 patients during 2017.
Replacing a Benzodiazepine With Another Sedative Does Not Automatically Remove Opioid Interaction Risk
A medicine outside the benzodiazepine class can still alter respiratory effects when combined with an opioid. An FDA laboratory study used a rat model previously able to detect respiratory worsening with diazepam and oxycodone.
Benzodiazepines May Modify Ketamine Antidepressant Response, but the Evidence Was Heterogeneous
A possible reduction in antidepressant benefit is different from a demonstrated change in every acute ketamine effect. A 2021 systematic review examined pharmacodynamic interactions between ketamine and psychiatric medications.
Oral and Intravenous Midazolam Probes Answered Different Questions in a Napabucasin Study
The administration route matters when interpreting a metabolic interaction experiment. A phase 1 study evaluated napabucasin interactions using several probe medicines in healthy volunteers.
Palliative Sedation Interviews Distinguish Treatment Intent From Expected Sedative Effects
Giving a sedating medicine does not, by itself, establish the clinician’s treatment intent. A qualitative interview study of German healthcare professionals explored intentions when giving sedative drugs in general palliative care.
Persistent Insomnia Complaints After Hypnotics May Require Measuring Sleep, Not Assuming No Sleep Occurred
A patient’s experience of sleeplessness and objectively recorded sleep can differ. A case report described a sixty-year-old woman who had tried multiple hypnotics over approximately ten years.
Opioid Co-Use Changed the Mortality Comparison for Benzodiazepine Hypnotics in Older Adults
The relevant comparison depended on whether patients were concurrently receiving opioids. A retrospective Medicare cohort included 400,924 adults aged sixty-five or older starting benzodiazepine hypnotics, Z-drugs or low-dose trazodone.
Dominant Midazolam Sedation Was Associated With ICU Delirium in a Matched Cohort
A dominant-drug classification does not mean that a patient received only that drug. A retrospective study of 2,837 mechanically ventilated adults in four Canadian ICUs classified the dominant sedation strategy by infusion duration before the first delirium assessment.
Cirrhosis Deprescribing Interviews Identify Barriers, Not Proof That Stopping Benzodiazepines Prevents Encephalopathy
Interview findings can explain why medication changes are difficult without measuring their clinical benefit. Researchers interviewed eight patients with cirrhosis and fourteen clinicians about medicines associated with hepatic encephalopathy, including benzodiazepines.
Unchanged Midazolam Exposure Does Not Establish Absence of Every Lemborexant Interaction
A negative metabolic interaction result answers a narrower question than a complete safety assessment. Phase 1 open-label studies used midazolam as a probe for CYP3A activity while evaluating lemborexant.
Can Expecting Alcohol Change Monetary Valuation? A 75-Student Study Without Measured BAC
A three-group experiment separated wine, an alcohol-cued placebo and an openly nonalcoholic drink. Its valuation findings do not establish impairment at a measured 0.02% BAC.
Can a Harder Task Hide Alcohol-Related Inhibition Errors? A 20-Man EEG Study
A more demanding task did not produce a larger detectable alcohol effect in a 20-man inhibition experiment. Alcohol increased errors in easier conditions, while the sober-versus-intoxicated difference was not significant in the hardest condition. This does not mean difficult work reverses intoxication. It shows why the structure of a test can change what an alcohol…
Does Alcohol Make Ambiguous Faces Look Hostile? An 84-Person Placebo Study
Alcohol increased hostile interpretations of ambiguous facial expressions in one controlled experiment, but it did not significantly increase hostility ratings overall or demonstrate that anyone became violent. The distinction matters when scientific evidence is used to explain a disputed confrontation. Recognizing an emotion, interpreting hostility and acting aggressively are separate outcomes. Eastwood and colleagues’ 2026…
Can Hangover Severity Reveal How Fast Someone Eliminates Alcohol? An Eight-Person Study
An eight-person analysis linked laboratory breath-alcohol disappearance with hangover scores from a separate year. Its bootstrap findings do not validate a personal elimination estimate or hangover treatment.
Alcohol and Driving Errors: Why the Test Scenario Changes What Impairment Measures Detect
A 24-driver crossover study shows why total driving errors, lane weaving and lane departures can give different results after alcohol—and why breath-derived targets are not measured blood concentrations.
Does Alcohol Increase Brain-Wave Amplitude While Slowing Its Frequency? A MEG Study
Alcohol can increase the amplitude of a brain response while slowing its rhythm. A small placebo-controlled magnetoencephalography study found that pattern in visually induced gamma oscillations. Movement-related gamma amplitude also increased, but its frequency did not change significantly. A larger recorded response therefore should not automatically be described as better brain function—or as a direct…
Can Finger-Prick Alcohol Testing Replace Venous Blood? What a Micro-Sampling Study Shows
A 13-volunteer study separates micro-volume ethanol analysis from the differences between capillary and venous whole-blood results.
Alcohol at Sporting Events: Why a Crowd Survey Cannot Prove One Spectator’s Impairment
A 4,420-spectator Swedish study shows how alcohol exposure varies across crowds—and why breath-based prevalence estimates cannot decide individual impairment or causation.
Flumazenil ED90: Why the Response Definition Controls the Dose Estimate
An effective dose has meaning only after the investigator defines an effect. A dose estimated to improve breathing during one sedation procedure does not automatically establish the dose for full awakening, preserved memory, or every other patient population. The response the investigators actually measured Kim and colleagues studied flumazenil during gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection under…
Diazepam in Urine: Why the Measured Metabolite and Sample Preparation Matter
A urine result is not simply a concentration of “diazepam.” Its interpretation depends on which parent drug or metabolites were measured and whether the laboratory analyzed glucuronide conjugates directly or after a preparation step that changes them. A controlled study by Wang and colleagues illustrates the distinction. Twenty-eight healthy Chinese volunteers, 14 women and 14…
Cannabis Tolerance in Rats: A Smaller Behavioral Response Does Not Explain Its Mechanism
Tolerance describes a diminished response after repeated drug exposure. Explaining why that response diminishes requires additional evidence. A 2025 rat study separated these questions by testing both the development of cannabis tolerance and whether the familiar drug-administration environment influenced it. What the experiment tested Varas and colleagues studied 16 young adult Sprague-Dawley rats, with eight…
CBD Formulation Comparisons: Similar Average Exposure Does Not Establish Bioequivalence
A pharmacokinetic comparison must account for uncertainty as well as average exposure. A small trial of a cannabidiol and hydroxychloroquine combination illustrates why similar-looking averages cannot, by themselves, establish bioequivalence. What the investigators compared Mbogo and colleagues reported a randomized, open-label phase I trial in 2025. Thirty-six healthy volunteers entered three parallel groups, with 12…
Can Alcohol Distort Anger Recognition While Increasing Reported Empathy? A 156-Person Trial
In 156 social drinkers, alcohol reduced anger recognition but increased self-reported relatedness. See exact results, weak reliability, and forensic limits.
Can Alcohol Slow Stopping Without Blocking Visual Cue Processing? A 39-Person fMRI Study
In a 39-person randomized alcohol fMRI study, estimated motor stopping slowed while selected visual-cue measures did not. Learn the forensic limits.