Society and culture
Prescriptions in the US for all sleeping pills (including zolpidem) steadily declined from around 57 million tablets in 2013, to around 47 million in 2017, possibly in relation to concern about prescribing addictive drugs in the midst of the opioid crisis. Military use
The United States Air Force uses zolpidem as one of the hypnotics approved as a "no-go pill" (with a six-hour restriction on subsequent flight operation) to help aviators and special duty personnel sleep in support of mission readiness. (The other hypnotics used are temazepam and zaleplon.) "Ground tests" are required prior to authorization issued to use the medication in an operational situation. Recreational use
Zolpidem has potential for either medical misuse when the drug is continued long term without or against medical advice, or for recreational use when the drug is taken to achieve a "high". The transition from medical use of zolpidem to high-dose addiction or drug dependence can occur with use, but some believe it may be more likely when used without a doctors recommendation to continue using it, when physiological drug tolerance leads to higher doses than the usual 5 mg or 10 mg, when consumed through inhalation or injection, or when taken for purposes other than as a sleep aid. Recreational use is more prevalent in those having been dependent on other drugs in the past, but tolerance and drug dependence can still sometimes occur in those without a history of drug dependence.
In 1999 Ontak was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL). Preclinical research
IL-2 does not follow the classical dose-response curve of chemotherapeutics. The immunological activity of high and low dose IL-2 show sharp contrast. This might be related to different distribution of IL-2 receptors (CD25, CD122, CD132) on different cell populations, resulting in different cells that are activated by high and low dose IL-2. In general high doses are immune suppressive, while low doses can stimulate type 1 immunity. Low-dose IL-2 has been reported to reduce hepatitis C and B infection.IL-2 has been used in clinical trials for the treatment of chronic viral infections and as a booster (adjuvant) for vaccines. The use of large doses of IL-2 given every 6–8 weeks in HIV therapy, similar to its use in cancer therapy, was found to be ineffective in preventing progression to an AIDS diagnosis in two large clinical trials published in 2009.More recently low dose IL-2 has shown early success in modulating the immune system in disease like type 1 diabetes and vasculitis. There are also promising studies looking to use low dose IL-2 in ischaemic heart disease. IL-2/anti-IL-2 mAb immune complexes (IL-2 ic)
IL-2 cannot accomplish its role as a promising immunotherapeutic agent due to significant drawbacks which are listed above. Some of the issues can be overcome using IL-2 ic. They are composed of IL-2 and some of its monoclonal antibody (mAb) and can potentiate biologic activity of IL-2 in vivo.