Diazepam was the top-selling pharmaceutical in the United States from 1969 to 1982, with peak sales in 1978 of 2.3 billion tablets. Diazepam along with oxazepam, nitrazepam and temazepam represent 82% of the benzodiazepine market in Australia. While psychiatrists continue to prescribe diazepam for the short-term relief of anxiety, neurology has taken the lead in prescribing diazepam for the palliative treatment of certain types of epilepsy and spastic activity, e.g., forms of paresis. It is also the first line of defense for a rare disorder called stiff-person syndrome.