Mogadon

Mogadon is the trade name of the drug nitrazepam. Nitrazepam belongs to the group of benzodiazepine tranquilizers and is used to treat insomnia and anxiety disorders. It has sedative, hypnotic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant and anxiolytic effects.

Mogadon is available in tablets, capsules and solution for intravenous administration. The drug is rapidly absorbed when taken orally and reaches maximum concentration in the blood after 1-2 hours. The half-life is 15-38 hours.

Side effects of mogadon include drowsiness, dizziness, loss of coordination, and weakness. Drug dependence may develop. The drug is not recommended to be taken during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Mogadon should be prescribed with caution to elderly patients and those with liver and kidney diseases.

*Mogadon was a popular drug in the 80-90s. It differed from other benzodiazepines primarily in the absence of a pronounced effect on memory and the formation of conditioned reflexes - an anxious or depressed person actually acted as if under hypnosis. But at the same time, the remaining psychopharmacological effects of the benzodiazepine remain. With long-term use of the maximum recommended therapeutic dosage, serious changes in the human central nervous system occur, but very insignificant ones - mental and neurological health changes against the background of an unusually long period of use (1-2 years, other sources say from 3 or more years).*

The psychotropic effect of mogadon occurs differently than, for example, alcohol; its effect on the central nervous system cannot be explained biochemically. Research by scientists has shown that the only case of use is just taking the drug itself; it is not a precondition for a psychotropic effect. The very fact that benzodiazepmans (and Mogadon is one of them) in the composition of tablets can significantly reduce and muffle their effect on the heart and blood vessels, namely, they become carriers of the psychotropic-hypnotic effects of the drug itself. Its influence on the body’s enzyme system allows the mixing and homogenization of substances that, due to the polymorphism of acidic groups, are able to penetrate the cell membrane and cross the barrier between the blood and the brain.