Thursday, April 19, 2007

Unsafe sleepwalking, sleep driving linked to pills

From CBC News:
Rare, bizarre and potentially dangerous side-effects of some prescription sleeping pills have prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to warn patients and doctors about the medications, including one that is available in Canada.

The FDA has linked the best-selling sleep-inducing drug zopliclone, sold in Canada under the brand name Imovane, to sleepwalking behaviours. The agency has also linked the drug to sleep driving — driving a car while not fully awake after taking a sedative-hypnotic drug, with no memory of doing so.

In the U.S., the FDA said there have been dozens of reports of bizarre behaviour during sleep among people who have taken a sleeping pill called Ambien. While Ambien is approved for use in Canada, it is not available for sale ...more

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