Description
Eszop (Eszopiclone) 2 mg
Eszop 2 mg contains eszopiclone, an oral sedative-hypnotic medicine used for insomnia. It belongs to the “Z-drug” group of non-benzodiazepine sleep medicines and is intended to help reduce time to fall asleep and improve sleep maintenance.
Active Ingredient and Medicine Class
The verified active ingredient is eszopiclone. It is a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic, structurally related to cyclopyrrolones, and is classified as a central nervous system depressant. Although it is not a benzodiazepine, it acts on the same general sleep-promoting receptor system in the brain.
Established Medical Uses
Eszopiclone is indicated for the treatment of insomnia. Prescribing information states that it decreases sleep latency and improves sleep maintenance in controlled studies. The established evidence base is for insomnia in adults, including people with chronic or primary insomnia. It is not established as a treatment for every cause of poor sleep, and it should not be assumed to address sleep problems caused by other untreated medical, psychiatric, or substance-related conditions.
How It Works
Eszopiclone is thought to work by interacting with GABA-receptor complexes at sites near benzodiazepine receptors. GABA is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and increasing its sleep-promoting effect can reduce arousal and support sleep initiation and sleep continuity. The precise hypnotic mechanism is not fully defined, but the overall effect is a calming action on the central nervous system.
Important Safety Information
Eszopiclone has important safety limitations. It is contraindicated in people who have experienced complex sleep behaviors such as sleep-walking or sleep-driving after taking the medicine, and in people with known hypersensitivity to eszopiclone. The product carries a boxed warning because complex sleep behaviors can occur and may lead to serious injury or death.
Clinically significant precautions include next-day impairment, especially when blood levels remain elevated, when the medicine is combined with other central nervous system depressants, or when metabolism is affected by other drugs. Alcohol can increase psychomotor impairment. Strong CYP3A4 inhibitors may increase exposure, while CYP3A4 inducers may reduce effectiveness. Use also warrants caution in people with hepatic impairment, respiratory impairment, or a history of substance misuse. As with other hypnotics, abnormal thoughts, behavioral changes, mood worsening, dependence, and withdrawal phenomena have been reported.
Possible Side Effects
Common adverse effects reported with eszopiclone include unpleasant taste, headache, somnolence, dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, anxiety, respiratory infection, rash, and hallucinations. Some effects are dose-related and may be more noticeable in older adults or when the medicine is combined with other sedating agents.
More serious reactions can include complex sleep behaviors, severe allergic reactions such as angioedema or anaphylaxis, marked confusion, impaired coordination, mood changes, suicidal thoughts, and clinically significant next-day impairment. Unusual sleep-related activities or unexpected changes in behaviour should be treated as important safety concerns.
Scientific Evidence
Randomized trials and systematic reviews support eszopiclone’s ability to improve sleep onset and sleep maintenance in adults with insomnia. A Cochrane review found better sleep-onset latency, less wake time after sleep onset, and longer total sleep time compared with placebo. A later meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials also found significant improvements in subjective sleep measures, with dizziness and unpleasant taste among the more common adverse effects. Overall, the published clinical evidence supports short- to medium-term symptomatic benefit, while safety concerns remain important in routine use.
Medical Information Notice
This page is an educational summary based on sources available at the time of review. It does not replace the official patient leaflet, full prescribing information, or an individual assessment by a qualified healthcare professional.
Medical Sources
- U.S. National Library of Medicine / DailyMed. Eszopiclone tablets, full prescribing information
- Liang Liang et al. Eszopiclone for the treatment of primary insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials. Sleep, 2019. View scientific article
- Susanne Rösner et al. Eszopiclone for insomnia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018. View scientific article
