The active principle of Mogadon is the nitro-benzodiazepine derivative nitrazepam largely used for the treatment of severe insommnia and depression over the past 50 years. It is a classical anxiolytic agent, with myorelaxant, anticonvulsant, and hypnosedative activities. The compound (and its sedative properties) was discovered in the 1950s and was first commercialized in the mid-1960s in Europe (not in the US). It has been extensively prescribed to patients suffering from insomnia and remains occasionally used today to treat sleep disturbance and epilepsy. Nitrazepam is a long-acting benzodiazepine acting as a non-selective type I/II benzodiazepine agonist. Its long half-life (about 30 hours) may expose patients at risks of residual daytime effects, including sedation, psychomotor and cognitive impairment, and accidental injury. The drug binds to GABA-A receptors to potentiate the effects of the GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) neurotransmitter. Nitrazepam has shown efficacy to treat insomnia, depression, and other pathologies but its regular use is associated also with adverse effects, such as an hypersalivation, headache, and dizziness. This drug remains occasionnaly prescribed today in some countries (notably to treat refractory epilepsy), despite the associated risk of abuse and addiction. Other benzodiazepines (such as lormetazepam, temazepam and diazepam) are usually preferred. In the 1960s, the Roche pharmaceutical company edited a series of 20 brochures entitled ‘Concepts of Sleep’ to advertise the hypnotic drug ‘Mogadon’.
