{"id":329231,"date":"2021-04-26T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/phytotherapeutic-agent-has-no-effect-on-driving-ability\/"},"modified":"2021-04-26T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T11:00:00","slug":"phytotherapeutic-agent-has-no-effect-on-driving-ability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/phytotherapeutic-agent-has-no-effect-on-driving-ability\/","title":{"rendered":"Phytotherapeutic agent has no effect on driving ability"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anxiety and sleep disorders are common and are associated with a reduced quality of life. Sedatives such as benzodiazepines have anxiolytic effects but impair driving ability. This is associated with significant negative consequences for some individuals. In contrast, a phyto-preparation containing lavender oil with proven anxiety-relieving and mood-lifting effects does not negatively affect driving performance, a new study shows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sedation, daytime sleepiness, drowsiness, and reductions in attentional performance and responsiveness are among common adverse effects of conventional synthetic anxiolytics [1]. The DRUID expert group (“Driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol and medicines”) warns in particular of the negative effects of benzodiazepines on driving ability [2]. It has been empirically shown that residual effects with unfavorable effects on driving performance also occur the following day when sedatives are used as sleep aids [3]. These delayed effects include decreased reaction time, reduced alertness, and impaired overall cognitive performance and judgment [4,5]. Phytopharmacological preparations with the active ingredient Silexan\u00ae are a well-tolerated treatment alternative with few side effects for anxiety and sleep disorders. In a recent study, the focus was on the effects of this active ingredient on driving ability. The conclusion is extremely positive.<\/p>\n

Driving performance under Silexan\u00ae similar to placebo condition.<\/h2>\n

Overall, there was no evidence of side effects affecting driving ability after taking Silexan\u00ae as described for benzodiazepines and other synthetic anxiolytics in the literature [9]. The results of the randomized, double-blind, crossover study show that single doses of up to 320 mg of Silexan\u00ae and multiple doses of 80 mg have no adverse effects on driving performance. In total, data from 73 healthy subjects in the age range of 25-58 years were analyzed. The primary endpoint was the standard deviation of track position (SDLP). Secondary endpoints were driving errors and drowsiness. The results of Part 1 of the study (n=48) confirm that the effect of Silexan\u00ae at a dosage of 80 mg\/d on “lane-keeping performance” is comparable to placebo, both after a single dose and after multiple doses over a period of one week. Only minor mean differences were also observed between Silexan\u00ae and placebo with regard to the number of driving errors. Kenntner-Mabiala et al. 2015 reported an average increase in total impaired driving of 21.4 at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.5 mg\/l (legal limit for driving in Western Europe) compared to 0.0 mg\/l [6]. This is a significantly higher error rate than the difference of 3.2 errors between placebo and Silexan\u00ae 80 mg reported in the present study.<\/p>\n

 <\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/h2>\n

Better lane keeping performance and fewer driving errors compared to lorazepam.<\/h2>\n

In Part 2 (n=25), Silexan\u00ae was administered at a dose of 160 mg (this therapeutic dose was studied in patients with generalized anxiety disorder) [7] and at a supratherapeutic dose of 320 mg. The choice of lorazepam as a comparator is based on the fact that Silexan\u00ae demonstrated similar anxiolytic effects in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in a previous study and lorazepam is one of the commonly used benzodiazepines [8]. Driving performance was evaluated in a validated alcohol-calibrated simulator test. For both doses, superiority of Silexan\u00ae over lorazepam 1 mg was demonstrated for lane-keeping performance, with an average SDLP mean difference of at least 5.4 cm (upper limit of 95% CI). The superiority of Silexan\u00ae over lorazepam also affected driving errors and self- and other-assessments of overall driving performance.<\/p>\n

The only adverse event that occurred significantly more often in the Silexan\u00ae condition than in placebo was abdominal tightness (eructation), a known side effect of the herbal medicine. The results of the present study are a valuable addition to previous empirical evidence on the symptom-reducing effects of Silexan\u00ae in patients with anxiety, sleep disorders, and related symptomatology.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nLiterature:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Hahn M, Roll SC: Benzodiazepines: from wonder drug to risk medication. Pharmaceutical Newspaper (Online), 07 Nov 2019. https:\/\/www.pharmazeutische-zeitung.de\/, (last accessed Feb. 24, 2021).<\/li>\n
  2. EMCDDA: DRUID project, www.emcdda.europa.eu, (last accessed Feb. 24, 2021).<\/li>\n
  3. M\u00f6ller H-J, et al: Journal of Psychiatric Research 2020, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jpsychires.2020.10.028<\/li>\n
  4. Hansen RN, et al: Sedative hypnotic medication use and the risk of motor vehicle crash. Am J Pub. Health 2015, 105 (8): e64-69.<\/li>\n
  5. Leufkens TR, et al. Residual effects of zopiclone 7.5 mg on highway driving performance in insomnia patients and healthy controls: a placebo controlled crossover study. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014, 231 (14): 2785-2798.<\/li>\n
  6. Kenntner-Mabiala R, et al: Driving performance under alcohol in simulated representative driving tasks: an alcohol calibration study for impairments related to medicinal drugs. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2015; 35 (2): 134-142.<\/li>\n
  7. Kasper S, et al: Lavender oil preparation Silexan is effective in generalized anxiety disorder – a randomized, double-blind comparison to placebo and paroxetine. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2014; 17 (6): 859-869.<\/li>\n
  8. Woelk H, Schl\u00e4fke S: A multi-center, double-blind, randomised study of the lavender oil preparation Silexan in comparison to Lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder. Phytomedicine 2010; 17: 94-99.<\/li>\n
  9. Dassanayake T, et al. Effects of benzodiazepines, antidepressants and opioids on driving: a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological and experimental evidence. Drug Saf 2011; 34 (2): 125-156.<\/li>\n
  10. Wang CS, Liu DY, Hsu KS: Simulation and application of cooperative driving sense systems using prescan software. Microsyst Technol 2018, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00542-018-4164-z<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \nHAUSARZT PRAXIS 2021; 16(3): 19
    \nInFo NEUROLOGY & PSYCHIATRY 2021; 19(2): 36.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Anxiety and sleep disorders are common and are associated with a reduced quality of life. Sedatives such as benzodiazepines have anxiolytic effects but impair driving ability. This is associated with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":105430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","cat_1_feature_home_top":false,"cat_2_editor_pick":false,"csco_eyebrow_text":"Anxiety and sleep disorders","footnotes":""},"category":[11508,11297,11530,11447,11548,11503],"tags":[20694,12564,20692,20690],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"class_list":["post-329231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-education","category-general-internal-medicine","category-market-medicine","category-pharmaceutical-medicine","category-rx-en","category-studies","tag-fitness-to-drive","tag-lavender","tag-silexan-en","tag-sleep-disorder","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 04:42:33","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"wpml_current_locale":"en_US","wpml_translations":{"fr_FR":{"locale":"fr_FR","id":329234,"slug":"le-phytotherapeutique-na-pas-deffet-sur-laptitude-a-la-conduite","post_title":"Le phytoth\u00e9rapeutique n'a pas d'effet sur l'aptitude \u00e0 la conduite","href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/fr\/le-phytotherapeutique-na-pas-deffet-sur-laptitude-a-la-conduite\/"},"it_IT":{"locale":"it_IT","id":329237,"slug":"il-fitoterapico-non-ha-alcun-effetto-sulla-capacita-di-guida","post_title":"Il fitoterapico non ha alcun effetto sulla capacit\u00e0 di guida.","href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/it\/il-fitoterapico-non-ha-alcun-effetto-sulla-capacita-di-guida\/"},"pt_PT":{"locale":"pt_PT","id":329243,"slug":"a-fitoterapeutica-nao-tem-efeito-sobre-a-capacidade-de-conducao","post_title":"A fitoterap\u00eautica n\u00e3o tem efeito sobre a capacidade de condu\u00e7\u00e3o","href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/pt-pt\/a-fitoterapeutica-nao-tem-efeito-sobre-a-capacidade-de-conducao\/"},"es_ES":{"locale":"es_ES","id":329264,"slug":"la-fitoterapia-no-tiene-ningun-efecto-sobre-la-capacidad-de-conduccion","post_title":"La fitoterapia no tiene ning\u00fan efecto sobre la capacidad de conducci\u00f3n","href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/es\/la-fitoterapia-no-tiene-ningun-efecto-sobre-la-capacidad-de-conduccion\/"}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=329231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329231"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=329231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}