Posted by Quintal on August 8, 2007, at 17:11:02
In reply to Re: beta carbolines to reverse benzo cognitive pro » Quintal, posted by FredPotter on August 8, 2007, at 15:38:17
Look, before any more animosity and retalliation wells up I'd like to point out what I'm saying here. Sure, the benzos have relieved many people for intolerable suffering and even saved lives. I'm grateful that they exist. But they're no panacea and they have cause much suffering to the people who became involuntarily addicted to them, and they've also claimed lives in the form of suicide resulting from benzo-induced depression.
The SSRIs are pretty much a crap shoot as a monotherapy for all but the mildest conditions, as most of us here know. Don't we all want safer, more effective anxiolytics? I'm thinking, for example, of the synthetic flavonoid 6,3'-dinitroflavone that's said to have fewer adverse effects on learning and memory than classical benzos. That's only the tip of the iceberg and there's much potential for further development of drugs like this, but I can't see any of them being approved in the near future can you? Even though they're the most effective anxiolytics we have right now, I still think we have to see the benzos for what they really are and what they do.
Yes, remedies like beta carbolines might be helpful for reversing some of the side effects, but it's odd that we have a thread of people approving of a remedy for a problem they deny exists. Benzos couldn't be used effectively in a medical setting unless they caused consistent sedative and amnesic effects, and they certainly do. If equally effective anxiolytics were available that did not cause cognitive impairment and amnesia I'm pretty sure we'd all jump at the chance to take them, and consign the benzos to retirement in operating theaters and dentists chairs.
Q
poster:Quintal
thread:774284
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070808/msgs/774874.html