Effects of Pregabalin on Subjective Sleep Disturbance Symptoms during Withdrawal from Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of pregabalin as a tapering therapy on the subjective sleep quality of patients who underwent a benzodiazepine withdrawal program in routine medical practice. Methods: Secondary analysis of a 12-week prospective, open noncontrolled study carried out in patients who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for benzodiazepine dependence. Sleep was evaluated with the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS Sleep Scale). Results: 282 patients were included in the analysis. Mean (+/- SD) pregabalin dose was 315 +/- 166 mg/day at the end of the trial. We observed a significant and clinically relevant improvement in sleep outcomes at the endpoint, with a total score reduction from 55.8 +/- 18.9 to 25.1 +/- 18.0 at week 12 (i.e. a 55% reduction). Similar findings were apparent using the six dimensions of the MOS Sleep Scale. Moderate correlations were observed between the MOS Sleep summary index and sleep domains, and there were improvements in anxiety symptoms and disease severity. Conclusions: These findings suggest that pregabalin may improve subjective sleep quality in patients who underwent a benzodiazepine withdrawal program. This effect appears to be partly independent of improvements in symptoms of anxiety or withdrawal. However, controlled studies are needed to establish the magnitude of the effect of pregabalin. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel