Although lorazepam is not necessarily better than diazepam at initially terminating seizures, lorazepam is, nevertheless, replacing diazepam as the intravenous agent of choice in status epilepticus.

5 mg, 1 mg, or 2 mg lorazepam, with some differences between countries. Lorazepam's anticonvulsant and CNS depressant properties are useful for the treatment and prevention of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. It has a fairly short duration of action (Venable and Aschenbrenner 2009). These effects are seen as more common with lorazepam than other benzodiazepines. Lorazepam appears to have more profound adverse effects on memory than other benzodiazepines; lorazepam impairs both explicit memory and implicit memory. The mechanism of tolerance to benzodiazepines is complex and involves GABAA receptor downregulation, alterations to subunit configuration of GABAA receptors, uncoupling and internalisation of the benzodiazepine binding site from the GABAA receptor complex as well as changes in gene expression. Lorazepam was first introduced by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 1971 under the brand names of Ativan and Temesta. Although lorazepam is not necessarily better than diazepam at initially terminating seizures, lorazepam is, nevertheless, replacing diazepam as the intravenous agent of choice in status epilepticus. The concern is that, though relatively nontoxic in themselvesverification needed, benzodiazepines may inadvertently become facilitators of suicidal behaviour. Lorazepam-glucuronide is eventually excreted by the kidneys, and, because of its tissue accumulation, it remains detectable - particularly in the urine - for substantially longer than lorazepam.