When alprazolam was compared with placebo for reduction in symptoms all estimates indicated a positive effect for alprazolam .
The RD of all-cause withdrawals did not differ between alprazolam and placebo .
Alprazolam appears to reduce depressive symptoms more effectively than placebo and as effectively as tricyclic antidepressants .
Whilst the rate of all-cause withdrawals did not appear to differ between alprazolam and placebo , and withdrawals were less frequent in the alprazolam group than in any of the conventional antidepressants combined group , these findings should be interpreted with caution , given the dependency properties of benzodiazepines
BACKGROUND The ' off-label ' effect of alprazolam on depression has not been systematic ally evaluated .
OBJECTIVES To determine the antidepressant effect , including tolerability and acceptability , of alprazolam as monotherapy for major depression , when compared to placebo and conventional antidepressants in out patients and patients in primary care .
New evidence on benzodiazepine use and falls: the time factor.
The objectives of this prospect i ve study were to calculate incidence rates for fall-related hospitalization , to compare the effect of risk factors among  benzodiazepine ( BZD ) users and unexposed controls , and to examine variations in risks according to length of time following a BZD prescription . Data were derived from Saskatchewan Health linked data bases , leading to information on 468 hospitalizations for injury due to falls among a study population of 321422 .  Incidence rates per 10000 within 28 days of the prescription fill date were 26.2 , 12.1 and 9.0 for BZD sedative users , BZD tranquillizer users and for unexposed controls , respectively . Incidence rates increased with age , and were higher for women than for men . Results from multivariate logistic regression models also showed a greater risk of falling for BZD users but the odds ratio was higher for men than for women . A history of treatment for alcohol abuse was a very strong risk factor for falls among both men ( odds ratio , 10.7 ) and women ( odds ratio , 4.3 ) . The highest risk of serious injury due to falls was within 15 days of filling the prescription , with an odds ratio of 3.6 for BZD sedatives and 2.6 for BZD tranquillizers . Risk decreased with further increase of time after the BZD fill date . For the individual BZD , flurazepam and triazolam showed the highest increase in risk with odds ratios of 3.4 and 2.7 , respectively , while oxazepam , lorazepam and diazepam showed odds ratios of 2.2 , 2.0 and 1.8 ( all odds ratios mentioned are statistically significant at p < 0.05 )
When alprazolam was compared with placebo for reduction in symptoms all estimates indicated a positive effect for alprazolam .
The RD of all-cause withdrawals did not differ between alprazolam and placebo .
Alprazolam appears to reduce depressive symptoms more effectively than placebo and as effectively as tricyclic antidepressants .
Whilst the rate of all-cause withdrawals did not appear to differ between alprazolam and placebo , and withdrawals were less frequent in the alprazolam group than in any of the conventional antidepressants combined group , these findings should be interpreted with caution , given the dependency properties of benzodiazepines
BACKGROUND The ' off-label ' effect of alprazolam on depression has not been systematic ally evaluated .
OBJECTIVES To determine the antidepressant effect , including tolerability and acceptability , of alprazolam as monotherapy for major depression , when compared to placebo and conventional antidepressants in out patients and patients in primary care .