Uses

Zolpidem is approved for the short-term (usually two to six weeks) treatment of insomnia, and it has been studied for nightly use up to six months in a single-blind trial published in 1991,^[11] an open-label study lasting 180 days published in 1992 (with continued efficacy in patients who had kept taking it as of 180 days after the end of the trial),^[12] and in an open-label trial lasting 179 days published in 1993.^[13]

The United States Air Force uses zolpidem, under trade name Ambien, as "no-go pills" to help pilots sleep after a mission; another drug used for the same purpose is temazepam (Restoril).^[14] (Cf. the "go-pills" amphetamine, served under the name Dexedrine, or its recent modafinil (Provigil) replacement, act as a stimulant for the same pilots, the effects of which are reversed by the aforementioned "no-go pills")^[15]

Zolpidem is also used off-label to treat restless leg syndrome and, as is the case with many prescription sedative/hypnotic drugs, it is sometimes used by stimulant users to "come down" after the use of stimulants such as methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), or amphetamine.^[16]

Recently, the drug has been reported anecdotally to have positive effects for patients in persistent vegetative state.^[6] Results from phase IIa trials are expected in June 2007. The trials are being conducted by Regen Therapeutics of the UK, who have a patent pending on this new use for Zolpidem.^[17][18]

A clinical trial on a single patient performed at the Toulouse University Hospital using PET shows that zolpidem repeatably improves brain function and mobility of a patient immobilized by akinetic mutism caused by hypoxia.^[19]