Posted by chemist on May 25, 2004, at 18:51:01
In reply to Re: medications, posted by DepNYer on May 25, 2004, at 14:19:10
> > > > > what is the difference in strength between klonopin and valium (dosage comparison
> > > >
> > > > hello there....valium is 10 to 20 times more potent than klonopin, which seems contrary to the observation that valium is usually dispensed in the 5 to 20 mg range (per day) while klonopin is in the 0.5 to 3 or 4 mg range (per day). all the best, chemist
> > >
>
>
>
> > > Actually, on a dosage comparison basis, 1 mg of Klonopin would correspond to an equivalent dose of 10 mg of Valium (approximately). This has nothing to do with potency, although potency is really not an issue when comparing benzos strictly for their anxiolyic properties.
> > >
> > >
> > actually, it has do do with active metabolites. need refs? will provide...all the best, chemist
>
> While active metabolites of diazepam such as desmethyldiazepam which is in turn is metabolized into oxazepam (as is chlordiazepoxide), account for it's extremely long half life, these have little to do with potency. To compare 2 drugs in relation to their relative potencies, you would need to compare either their EC50s' (sorry, no subcript)or ED50s' which would correpond to their concentration or dose to acieve a 50% maximal effect. While the potency may be calculated this way, in clinical use it is the maximal efficacy that is relied upon in the choice of a drug.
> Take care...DepNYer
>
>
>
hi there...actually, you want to examine the inflection point on a dose-response curve for the actual potency. given that EC_{50} for diazepam and clonazepam are statistically the same, the dose-response cureves for the two compounds will reveal that the inflection point for diazepam is left-skewed compared to that of klonopin. however, the maximum efficacy for diazepam is lower than that of klonopin....all the best, chemist
poster:chemist
thread:349282
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040521/msgs/350567.html