Triazolam

Triazolam is oral benzodiazepine used as a hypnotic agent in the short-term management of insomnia. its structure includes the addition of a triazole ring at the 1, 2 position. A substituent in the 7th position such as halogen or a nitro group is required for its sedative-hypnotic activity.The benzodiazipines are more effective and safer. Benzodiazepines can produce any level of CNS depression required including sedation, hypnosis, skeletal muscle relaxation, anticonvulsant activity, and coma. The action of these drugs is mediated through the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), potentiating the effects of GABA and increasing the inhibition of the ascending reticular activating system. Triazolam is often preferable to chlordiazepoxide, flurazepam, and prazepam in treating anxiety or insomnia, particularly in the elderly or patients with liver disease, because it has a relatively shorter half-life and does not generate active metabolites. It was approved by the FDA in 1982.