Four-Week Tolerance Study of Chlormezanone for the Treatment of Insomnia in the Elderly

A 4-week study of chlormezanone was carried out in thirty-two patients admitted to a geriatric ward and requiring regular night sedation. Two patients required 400 mg nightly, the remainder only 200 mg nightly. The duration and quality of sleep, and frequency of awaking refreshed, all improved during chlormezanone therapy. There was no deterioration in mental agility test performance. There were no serious side-effects, no significant changes in blood urea or liver function tests, and no evidence of drug accumulation. It is concluded that chlormezanone appears to be a well tolerated drug for elderly patients with sleep disturbance meriting further controlled evaluation.