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Paradoxical Reaction to Beta-Blockers

Beta-blockers are a widely used category of prescription drugs that work to circumvent the body's fight-or-flight response. They are typically taken by heart patients and people with high blood pressure to keep the shock of adrenaline at bay. Also, beta-blockers are common in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and work in much the same way as mild tranquilizers.

  1. Significance

    • Beta-blocker is the abbreviated form of the term beta-adrenergic blocking agent. The drug prevents the adrenal hormones norepinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline) from binding to beta receptors on nerves, which has a generalized calming effect on the body. There are three categories of beta receptors in the human body.

    Function

    • Minor tranquilizers, like beta-blockers, can cause paradoxical reactions in people who take them. This means that these drugs can serve to illicit the opposite effect of what's expected. A person taking the drug, rather than feeling relaxed and calm, can become highly agitated and anxious, as well as confused and disoriented, explains the Foundation for Truth in Reality (FTR).

    Effects

    • According to the "Physician's Desk Reference," strong and random paradoxical reactions to minor tranquilizers can take the form of hallucinations, muscle spasms, sleeping problems and adverse behavioral responses, although this tends to be rare, reports FTR.

    Considerations

    • Minor tranquilizers are commonly dispensed in nursing homes. Elderly patients suffering from insomnia get relief for a night or two but then suffer paradoxical wakefulness as the medication builds up in their systems. Anxious patients may then be further medicated to address the paradoxical effect, with overdose being the possible outcome. The "Textbook of Neuropsychiatry" reports that these medications should never be routinely dispensed in nursing homes except for brief periods.

    Warning

    • As far back as 1988, Susan Golombok from the Institute of Psychiatry in London evaluated how minor tranquilizers affect cognitive ability in patients who took these drugs for a period of at least 12 months. The results revealed long-term impairment in attention span and in visual-spatial acuity. These patients generally were not coping well in their lives from day to day.

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