Nimetazepam

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Nimetazepam (marketed under brand name Erimin and Lavol) is an intermediate-acting hypnotic drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. It was first synthesized by a team at Hoffmann-La Roche in 1964. It possesses powerful hypnotic, anxiolytic, sedative, and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. Nimetazepam is also a particularly potent anticonvulsant. It was marketed in 5 mg tablets known as Erimin, which is the brand name manufactured and marketed by the large Japanese corporation Sumitomo. Japan was the sole manufacturer of nimetazepam in the world. Outside of Japan, Erimin was available in much of East and Southeast Asia and was widely prescribed for the short-term treatment of severe insomnia in patients who had difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep. Sumitomo has ceased manufacturing Erimin since November 2015. It is still available as a generic drug or as Lavol. Nimetazepam was widely prescribed in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in Japan, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Prescriptions for the drug have decreased dramatically since 2005 due to rampant misuse and addiction. It is primarily used as an anticonvulsant in children. It is also still used in the most severe and debilitating cases of insomnia in an inpatient setting or in short term outpatient treatment. Hypnotic benzodiazepines estazolam and nitrazepam are used more frequently than nimetazepam for this purpose. Antidepressants such as trazodone and mirtazapine or Z-drugs like zopiclone and zolpidem are first line treatment for insomnia. Although prescriptions for nimetazepam have decreased, abuse of the drug is still significant in Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is commonly used in combination with methamphetamine and MDMA (Ecstasy) and opiates (especially heroin or morphine). The strict legal restrictions nimetazepam is subject to in Malaysia has made the drug scarce, but many pills sold as nimetazepam in the black market are...