Tried and tested

　　“The more reports that come out about the potential side effects of the drug, the more research needs to be done to understand if these are real side effects,” says sleep researcher Kenneth Wright at the University of Colorado in Boulder, US.

　　Millions of people have taken the drug without experiencing any strange side effects, points out Richard Millman at Brown Medical School, director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Lifespan Hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island, US. He says that unlike older types of sleep medications, zolpidem does not carry as great a risk of addiction.

　　And Wright notes that some of the reports of “sleep-driving” linked to zolpidem can be easily explained: some patients have wrongly taken the drug right before leaving work in hopes that the medicine will kick in by the time they reach home. Doctors stress that the medication should be taken just before going to bed.

　　The US Food & Drug Administration says it is continuing to "actively investigate" and collect information about cases linking zolpidem to unusual side effects.

　　The Ambien label currently lists strange behaviour as a “special concern” for people taking the drug. “It’s a possible rare adverse event,” says Sanofi-Aventis spokesperson Melissa Feltmann, adding that the strange sleepwalking behaviours “may not necessarily be caused by the drug” but instead result from an underlying disorder. She says that “the safety profile [of zolpidem] is well established”. The drug received approval in the US in 1993.

　　Questions 1-6

　　Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

　　In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet write

　　TRUE if the statement is true according to the passage

　　FALSE if the statement is false according to the passage

　　NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

　　1. Ambien, Stilnoct and Stilnox are brand names of one same drug treating insomnia.

　　2. The woman’s obesity problem wasn’t resolved until she stopped taking zolpidem.

　　3. Zolpidem received approval in the UK in 2001.

　　4. The bizarre behaviour of a passenger after taking zolpidem resulted in the diversion of a flight bound for the other side of the Atlantic.

　　5. Zolpidem is the only sleep medication that doesn’t cause addiction.

　　6. The sleep-driving occurrence resulted from the wrong use of zolpidem by an office worker.

　　Question 7-9

　　Choose the appropriate letters A-D and Write them in boxes 7-9 on your answer sheet.

　　7. How many cases of bizarre behaviours are described in an official report from Australia?

　　A. 68

　　B. 104

　　C. 182

　　D. 240

　　8. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the product information about zolpidem?

　　A. Treatment should be stopped if side effects occur.

　　B. Medication should be taken just before going to bed.

　　C. Adverse effects are more likely in the elderly.

　　D. Side effects include nightmares, hallucinations and sleepwalking.

　　9. Who claimed that the safety description of zolpidem was well established?

　　A. Kenneth Wright

　　B. Melissa Feltmann

　　C. Richard Millman

　　D. Vera Sharav

　　Questions 10-13

　　Answer the following questions with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS each in boxes 10-13.

　　10. How many times was French-made zolpidem prescribed in 2005 in Britain?

　　11. What kind of hypnotic is zolpidem as a drug which promotes deep sleep in patients?

　　12. What can sleepwalking and sleep-driving behaviours cause according to patient advocacy groups?

　　13. What US administration says that it has been investigating the cases relating zolpidem to unusual side effects?