Diazepam is a medication belonging to a group of drugs in the benzodiazepine family that are used to produce a calming effect. It is typically prescribed to treat a range of conditions including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal, benzodiazepine withdrawal, muscle spasms, trouble sleeping, and restless legs syndrome. In addition, it may also be administered to cause a memory loss effect for use during certain medical procedures. Diazepam was originally developed by Leo Sternbach working for the pharmaceutical products manufacturing company Hoffmann-La Roche, which patented it in 1959. Diazepam manufacturers and diazepam suppliers have since commercialized the drug with distributors having it for sale and wholesale across the global marketplace at various price points. This has largely been driven by the expiration of its patent and subsequent generic nature, along with diazepam’s historic commercial success under the trade name Valium, being the highest selling medication in the United States between 1968 and 1982, and one of the most prescribed medications globally since its launch in 1963. Currently, diazepam is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential medicines, indicating its central role as a cost-effective and efficient drug recommended for use in health systems across the globe.

Diazepam is a benzodiazepine tranquillizer which exhibits anticonvulsant, sedative, muscle relaxant, and amnesic properties. These drugs in the benzodiazepine class function through binding to receptors in regions of the brain and spinal cord acting as positive allosteric modulators, specifically binding to GABA type A receptors. These receptors are ligand-gated chloride-selective ion channels that are activated by GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain reasonable for sleep induction, and the control of hypnosis, memory, anxiety, epilepsy, and neuronal excitability. The binding of benzodiazepines to the receptor complex increases the affinity of GABA binding, which subsequently increases the conduction of chloride ions across the neuronal cell membrane. This triggers a cascade, ultimately culminating in an increase in the differential resting point and threshold of the cell’s polarization, making it less likely that the cell will become activated. This results in diminishing signaling of the cortical and limbic systems in the central nervous system.