Buspirone

Benjamin Clanner-Engelshofen is a freelance writer in the medical department. He studied biochemistry and pharmacy in Munich and Cambridge / Boston (USA) and noticed early on that he particularly enjoyed the interface between medicine and science. That is why he went on to study human medicine.

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The active ingredient buspirone has an anxiolytic effect. To do this, it intervenes in the metabolism of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. In contrast to benzodiazepines (also anti-anxiety relievers), buspirone only works after a few weeks, but does not make you tired and - after prolonged use - addictive. Here you can read everything you need to know about the effects and use of buspirone, side effects and interactions.

This is how buspirone works

In anxiety disorders, a patient suffers from persistent anxiety that can relate to many areas of life and is usually unfounded. The constant fears and worries can relate, for example, to social relationships, work, health, money or other things. Usually there are also physical complaints such as nausea, restlessness, tremors, racing heart, dizziness, tension, headaches and sleep disorders.

Anxiety-relieving drugs such as benzodiazepines (diazepam, lorazepam and others) quickly and reliably relieve psychological and physical complaints. But they can quickly (usually after a few weeks) lead to addiction. If they are stopped, the original symptoms will be more severe than before.

This is different with the active ingredient buspirone: if it is taken for several weeks, the complex neuronal brain structures that can trigger anxiety disorders begin to reorganize. Because buspirone activates certain docking points (receptors) of the neurotransmitter serotonin, the “interconnection” of nerve cells changes, as studies show. This fact also explains the delayed effect of the anxiety reliever. Buspirone works not only on various receptors of the "happiness hormone" serotonin and those of dopamine, but also on receptors for norepinephrine that increase psychological drive.

In addition to treatment with buspirone, anxiety patients should always undergo psychotherapy.

Buspirone uptake, breakdown and excretion

After ingestion, the active ingredient is quickly and completely absorbed into the blood through the intestinal wall. From the intestine it reaches the liver with the blood, where it is deactivated by over 95 percent (“first-pass metabolism”). The buspirone blood level, which reaches its maximum one to one and a half hours after ingestion, has therefore already halved again after about two to three hours. About two thirds of the breakdown products of buspirone are excreted with the urine and one third with the stool.

When is buspirone used?

The active ingredient buspirone is approved for the symptomatic treatment of anxiety states, which are characterized in particular by anxiety, inner restlessness and states of tension.

Although buspirone does not cause addiction, the anxiety reliever should not be used for more than four months.

This is how buspirone is used

Buspirone is taken in tablet form. The total daily dose is divided into three individual doses, which are taken with a glass of water independently of meals. The start of treatment is gradual: a low dose is taken at the beginning (usually five milligrams three times a day), which is then slowly increased depending on the effect and the occurrence of side effects (to ten milligrams three times a day). In severe cases, the doctor can increase the dosage up to three times 20 milligrams per day.

What are the side effects of buspirone?

During treatment, one in ten to one hundred people experience side effects such as chest pain, nightmares, anger, hostility, confusion, drowsiness, ringing in the ears, sore throat, nasal congestion, blurred vision, muscle pain, abnormal sensations, rashes, and increased sweating.

What should be considered when taking buspirone?

Although no interactions between alcohol and buspirone have been observed in clinical studies, alcohol should generally not be consumed during treatment with psychotropic drugs.

There are no studies on possible interactions between buspirone and other psychotropic drugs (such as neuroleptics / antipsychotics, antidepressants). An experienced doctor should therefore always be consulted prior to simultaneous use. The same applies to combinations with hormonal contraceptives, anticoagulants, anti-diabetes agents and other active ingredients.

Agents against depression from the class of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) should not be combined with buspirone, as this can lead to acute high blood pressure crises.

Taking buspirone may affect your ability to react. Therefore, patients should not operate heavy machinery or drive vehicles during treatment.

There is no experience with the use of buspirone during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as in children and adolescents. The anxiety reliever should therefore not be taken in these phases of life.

How to get drugs with buspirone

All preparations with the anxiety reliever buspirone require pharmacy and prescription. So you can only get them with a doctor's prescription.

Since when is buspirone known?

The active ingredient buspirone was discovered by a team of scientists from the Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (a manufacturer of infant nutrition) in 1972. However, it was only patented in 1975 and brought to market in the USA in 1986 by the pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb. In Germany the license was granted in 1996. In 2001 the patent protection expired. There is now a generic drug with the active ingredient buspirone.

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