雅思阅读模拟题及答案-雅思阅读模拟题：Sleepmedication

【#雅思# 导语】®文档大全网为大家准备了雅思阅读模拟题：Sleep medication。雅思模拟试题在雅思备考过程中所起的作用不可小觑，通过模拟练习题，我们可以很直接地了解到自己的备考状况，从而可以更有针对性地进行之后的复习。希望以下内容能够对大家的雅思备考有所帮助!更多雅思报名的最新消息，最专业的雅思备考资料，®文档大全网将为大家发布。

　　Sleep medication linked to bizarre behaviour

　　12:44 06 February 2007

　　NewScientist.com news service

　　Roxanne Khamsi

　　New evidence has linked a commonly prescribed sleep medication with bizarre
behaviours, including a case in which a woman painted her front door in her
sleep.

　　UK and Australian health agencies have released information about 240 cases
of odd occurrences, including sleepwalking, amnesia and hallucinations among
people taking the drug zolpidem.

　　While doctors say that zolpidem can offer much-needed relief for people
with sleep disorders, they caution that these newly reported cases should prompt
a closer look at its possible side effects.

　　Zolpidem, sold under the brand names Ambien, Stilnoct and Stilnox, is
widely prescribed to treat insomnia and other disorders such as sleep apnea.
Various forms of the drug, made by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis,
were prescribed 674,500 times in 2005 in the UK.

　　A newly published report from Australia’s Federal Health Department
describes 104 cases of hallucinations and 62 cases of amnesia experienced by
people taking zolpidem since marketing of the drug began there in 2000. The
health department report also mentioned 16 cases of strange sleepwalking by
people taking the medication.

　　Midnight snack

　　In one of these sleepwalking cases a patient woke with a paintbrush in her
hand after painting the front door to her house. Another case involved a woman
who gained 23 kilograms over seven months while taking zolpidem. “It was only
when she was discovered in front of an open refrigerator while asleep that the
problem was resolved,” according to the report.

　　The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, meanwhile,
has recorded 68 cases of adverse reactions to zolpidem from 2001 to 2005.

　　The newly reported cases in the UK and Australia add to a growing list of
bizarre sleepwalking episodes linked to the drug in other countries, including
reports of people sleep-driving while on the medication. In one case, a
transatlantic flight had to be diverted after a passenger caused havoc after
taking zolpidem.

　　Hypnotic effects

　　There is no biological pathway that has been proven to connect zolpidem
with these behaviours. The drug is a benzodiazepine-like hypnotic that promotes
deep sleep by interacting with brain receptors for a chemical called
gamma-aminobutyric acid. While parts of the brain become less active during deep
sleep, the body can still move, making sleepwalking a possibility.

　　The product information for prescribers advises that psychiatric adverse
effects, including hallucinations, sleepwalking and nightmares, are more likely
in the elderly, and treatment should be stopped if they occur.

　　Patient advocacy groups say they would like government health agencies and
drug companies to take a closer look at the possible risks associated with sleep
medicines. They stress that strange sleepwalking and sleep-driving behaviours
can have risky consequences.

　　“When people do something in which they’re not in full control it’s always
a danger,” says Vera Sharav of the New York-based Alliance for Human Research
Protection, a US network that advocates responsible and ethical medical research
practices.

　　Tried and tested

　　“The more reports that come out about the potential side effects of the
drug, the more research needs to be done to understand if these are real side
effects,” says sleep researcher Kenneth Wright at the University of Colorado in
Boulder, US.

　　Millions of people have taken the drug without experiencing any strange
side effects, points out Richard Millman at Brown Medical School, director of
the Sleep Disorders Center of Lifespan Hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island,
US. He says that unlike older types of sleep medications, zolpidem does not
carry as great a risk of addiction.

　　And Wright notes that some of the reports of “sleep-driving” linked to
zolpidem can be easily explained: some patients have wrongly taken the drug
right before leaving work in hopes that the medicine will kick in by the time
they reach home. Doctors stress that the medication should be taken just before
going to bed.

　　The US Food & Drug Administration says it is continuing to "actively
investigate" and collect information about cases linking zolpidem to unusual
side effects.

　　The Ambien label currently lists strange behaviour as a “special concern”
for people taking the drug. “It’s a possible rare adverse event,” says
Sanofi-Aventis spokesperson Melissa Feltmann, adding that the strange
sleepwalking behaviours “may not necessarily be caused by the drug” but instead
result from an underlying disorder. She says that “the safety profile [of
zolpidem] is well established”. The drug received approval in the US in
1993.

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