ZALEPLON

Zaleplon 10mg, Oral capsule

Alcohol

· Severity: Major

· Notes for Consumers: Avoid alcohol-containing drinks while taking this medicine. Using this drug along with alcohol can lead to serious side effects. You may feel drowsy or more tired when taking these drugs together. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how this drug affects you, and especially if you are drinking alcohol-containing beverages. If you notice slurred speech, confusion, severe weakness, or difficulty breathing, contact your health care provider immediately.

· Notes for Professionals: Advise patients not to use zaleplon if they drank alcohol that evening or before bed. There are additive effects of alcohol with zaleplon, leading to additive CNS depression and psychomotor impairment. Zaleplon potentiated the CNS-impairing effects of ethanol 0.75 g/kg on balance testing and reaction time for 1 hour after ethanol administration and on the digit symbol substitution test (DSST), symbol copying test, and the variability component of the divided attention test for 2.5 hours after ethanol administration. The potentiation resuls from a CNS pharmacodynamic interaction; zaleplon did not affect the pharmacokinetics of ethanol.

Zaleplon 10mg, Oral capsule

Grapefruit juice

· Severity: Moderate

· Notes for Consumers: Do not eat Grapefruit and drink Grapefruit juice while taking Zaleplon without the approval of your healthcare provider. Grapefruit juice and Grapefruit-containing foods may increase the chance of side effects from Zaleplon such as excess drowsiness, dizziness, sleep-walking, memory problems, or falls. Notify your healthcare provider right away if you experience side effects such as these while taking Zaleplon.

· Notes for Professionals: Grapefruit and grapefruit juice should be avoided if possible in patients taking zaleplon. Because zaleplon is partially metabolized by CYP3A4, an interaction is possible with CYP3A4 inhibitors such as grapefruit juice. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice inhibit CYP3A4 metabolism in gut enterocytes, and therefore may cause increased systemic concentrations of zaleplon potentially resulting in somnolence, ataxia, sleep-related behaviors, or other adverse CNS effects.

Zaleplon 10mg, Oral capsule

High Fat Foods

· Severity: Major

· Notes for Consumers: It is best to take Zaleplon before bedtime on an empty stomach or a light snack only. Ingesting heavy or high-fat foods before bedtime may reduce the effectiveness of Zaleplon.

· Notes for Professionals: Administration with or immediately after heavy, high-fat food slows the absorption of zaleplon. This is expected to reduce the effect of zaleplon on sleep latency.

<b>DISCLAIMER:</b><em> This drug information content is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Patients should always consult their physician with any questions regarding a medical condition and to obtain medical advice and treatment. Drug information is sourced from GSDD (Gold Standard Drug Database ) provided by Elsevier.</em>