AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland

Part A: Introduction

Zopiclone is a sleep-inducing drug developed by Rhône-Poulenc, after around 12 years of research aiming to find a new class of drugs that were pharmacologically similar to the benzodiazepines (1). Rhône-Poulenc was a French pharmaceutical company that is now under Sanofi-Aventis – currently the main manufacturer of Zopiclone – which is also commonly known as Imovane and Zimovane (2). Zopiclone was the first drug in the cyclopyrrolone family: the new class of hypnotics discovered in the 1980s which were structurally distinct from, but acted like, benzodiazepines (3). A new family of drugs was sought after to replace benzodiazepines as they had a variety of unfavourable side effects during the day, such as drowsiness, withdrawal effects and dependence (4, 5).

Zopiclone has an agonist effect on type A γ-aminobutyric acid receptors (GABAA receptors), binding to the same site as benzodiazepines (2, 3). The five characteristic activities exhibited by benzodiazepines are also properties of Zopiclone; it has anticonvulsant, muscle-relaxant, anti-anxiety, sedative and hypnotic effects (1, 6). Despite the wide range of properties Zopiclone has, it is primarily administered to treat transient, short-term and chronic insomnia (3, 6). It can be used as a pre-operative sedative for hospitalised patients, but other drugs such as flurazepam and diazepam (benzodiazepines), are more suitable for this use as they are more effective at alleviating preoperative anxiety (3).

Zopiclone does not tend to produce the adverse effects seen as a result of benzodiazepine use for insomnia treatment. Difficulty waking and reduced morning concentration are not common, and the drug does not have a high potential for dependence (5). It can be used on a wide variety of people, both elderly and younger patients tolerate Zopiclone well; however, it is not recommended for use by pregnant women as there are no sufficiently large enough studies confirming its safety during pregnancy (5, 7). An adverse effect of Zopiclone is a bitter aftertaste, but this is not relatively frequent among users (5).

Part B: Graphing exercise

Figure 1: Mean contraction of smooth muscle of guinea pig ileum in response to increasing concentrations of an acetylcholine analogue (carbachol). Concentrations of carbachol increased ten-fold for each of the seven data points measured (starting at 1 x 10-10 M and increased up to 1 x 10-4 M). Data were graphed using a log scale of the carbachol concentration to observe the sigmoidal curve. The error bars represent the standard deviations of the mean contraction observed.

Part C: Referencing exercise

 References

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