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Tetrazepam
Tetrazepam is a benzodiazepine1 with calming and muscle-relaxant effects.1 It also has anxiety-reducing, anticonvulsant, and mild sleep-inducing effects. At low doses, it provides muscle relaxation and anxiety relief with relatively little sedation. It is reported to produce more euphoria than similar benzodiazepines. Exposure can occasionally cause delayed allergic skin reactions, including Stevens–Johnson syndrome, and skin toxicity led to its withdrawal from the market in 2013.
Dosage & Duration
Dosage
Doses are population estimates that vary widely between individuals.
The indicated adult therapeutic dose for muscle spasm is 25 mg to 150 mg per day, increased if necessary to a maximum of 300 mg per day, in divided doses; it is not generally recommended for children except on specialist advice. Tetrazepam is only available in one strength and formulation, 50 mg tablets. Benzodiazepine equivalence: approximately 100 mg of tetrazepam = 10 mg of diazepam. It has relatively little sedative effect at low doses while still producing useful muscle relaxation and anxiety relief. Peak plasma levels are reached in less than 2 hours, and it is an intermediate-acting benzodiazepine with an elimination half-life of approximately 15 hours.
Duration
Subjective Effects
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Tetrazepam is a benzodiazepine used therapeutically as a muscle relaxant, with anticonvulsant, anxiolytic and mildly hypnotic properties. It produces relatively little sedation at low doses while still relieving muscle spasm and anxiety, and its hypnotic effects are reduced compared to other benzodiazepines. It has nonetheless been described as more euphoric than comparable compounds, and is sometimes taken to reach a state of intoxication.
Physical
Muscle relaxation is the defining physical effect, accompanied by drowsiness as a common side effect and, in some cases, a reduction in muscle force or marked muscle weakness.
Sedation
Cognitive
The mental effects centre on relief of anxiety, with euphoria reported more prominently than with similar benzodiazepines.
Emotional
Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Tetrazepam acts as an agonist at benzodiazepine binding sites,2 binding nonselectively to both type 1 and type 2 sites.3 It also binds to peripheral benzodiazepine receptors.3 Its muscle-relaxant action is thought to involve reduced calcium influx.
Pharmacokinetics
Tetrazepam is rapidly absorbed after oral administration,4 within approximately 45 minutes, and reaches peak plasma concentrations in less than 2 hours. Its elimination half-life is approximately 15 hours.5 Metabolism primarily produces inactive metabolites, alongside small amounts of diazepam and its active metabolites.
Interactions
An unlisted combination is an unknown one, not a safe one. Check a dedicated combination chart before mixing.
Tolerance
Tolerance timelines are rules of thumb, not exact schedules, and vary widely between individuals and use patterns.
Harm Potential
Addiction & Dependence
Psychological
Tetrazepam is habit-forming and is sometimes abused to produce intoxication.
Toxicity
Tetrazepam can occasionally cause allergic skin reactions, including rashes, eczema, erythema multiforme and Stevens–Johnson syndrome;6 toxic epidermal necrolysis has also occurred, with at least one reported death. Photodermatitis7 and phototoxicity have been reported,8 and regular occupational handling or airborne occupational exposure can cause allergic contact dermatitis.
Tetrazepam can reduce muscle strength, and myasthenia gravis has been identified as a potential adverse effect.
History & Culture
Tetrazepam was marketed under a range of brand names including Clinoxan, Epsipam, Myolastan, Musaril, Relaxam and Spasmorelax, and was used mainly in Austria, France, Belgium, Germany and Spain. Its principal medical application was the treatment of muscle spasm, though it was also prescribed for…
Legality
References
Citations
Article Status
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