Diazepam tolerance effects on vestibular function testing, part II: Vestibulo-ocular reflex parameters during rotational testing

Patricia A. Blau, Nathan Schwade, Peter Roland

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this prospective study was to determine whether clinical doses of diazepam (DZ; 10 mg/d) administered for 14 days result in tolerance as measured by the sinuosidal harmonic acceleration (SHA) rotational test. It has been shown that repeated dosing with DZ leads to accumulation and tolerance in outcome measures that assess memory, sedation, and psychomotor tasks. Methods: In a double-blinded, repeated-measures design, 30 normal male subjects who ranged in age from 20 to 36 years were randomly assigned to a placebo group or a DZ group and participated in 6 SHA rotational sessions over a 2-week period. Analysis of drug-placebo differences in percent change from baseline was performed with a 1-way analysis of variance. Results: Vestibulo-ocular reflex gain and phase frequencies at 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.08 Hz were significant (p < .05) for treatment group. No significant effect was observed for gain and phase frequency at 0.16 Hz - a finding that indicates selective effects on different central nervous system mechanisms. There was no statistical significance for time. Conclusions: Clinically, the DZ subjects' scores remained within the normal ranges for vestibulo-ocular phase and gain, suggesting that patients in whom drug cessation is problematic may not have to discontinue DZ before testing with the SHA rotational system.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)722-729
Number of pages8
JournalAnnals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology
Volume114
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2005

Keywords

  • Diazepam
  • Rotational testing
  • Sinusoidal harmonic acceleration
  • Tolerance
  • Vestibular function test

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Otorhinolaryngology

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