Comparison of Therapeutic Effects between Mirtazapine and Alprazolam on Chronic Insomnia

Objective To determine whether mirtazapinne is clinically effective on the treatment of chronic insomnia and to compare the clinical effects between mirtazapine and alpazolam on chronic insomnia. Methods Seventy-nine patients were randomly divided into two groups(38 and 41 for each),which received the treatments of mirtazapine and alprazolam respectively for 12 weeks as a course.The patients in mirtazapine group took 10-15 mg 0.5 hour before sleeping,while the patients in alpazolam group took 0.4-0.8 mg 0.5 hour before sleeping.The curative effects were evaluated with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI) and sleeping dairy before and after the 4~(th),8~(th),and 12~(th) weeks of treatment. Results The effective rate and significantly effective rate of mirtazapine on chronic insomnia were 96.9% and 90.6%,respectively,whereas those of alprazolam,78.8% and 51.5% respectively.Mirtazapine played significantly better role in the treatment of chronic insomnia than alprazolam did(P0.05).The side effects of mirtazapine included sleepy,dizzy and getting weight,all of which were acceptable. Conclusion Mirtazapine is surely effective on clinical treatment of chronic insomnia with mild side effects.For using mirtazapine,starting with the small dosage is suggested.