Amobarbital Alcohol

Before the introduction of the benzodiazepines, a number of drugs from different chemical and pharmacological classes were used in the treatment of anxiety and insomnia. However, these drugs are more toxic and produce more serious side effects than do the benzodiazepines. Many also have signihcant abuse potential. Consequently, most of these compounds are no longer widely used. These drugs include the barbiturates (e.g., pentobarbital, amobarbital), carbamates (e.g., meprobamate), piperidinediones (e.g., glutethimide), and alcohols (e.g., ethchlorvynol). 

Pentobarbital Amobarbital lar to alcohol See alcohol Death from drug over-... 

Another group of barbiturates is more rapidly metabolized by the liver. Their effects last six or seven hours, and they are called short-acting. They include amobarbital (Amytal), pentobarbital (Nembutal), hexobarbital (Sombulex), and secobarbital (Seconal). These drugs behave very much like alcohol, giving pleasant feelings in low doses, especially as they begin to take effect. There fore, some people seek them out to change the way they feel, and... 

Several classes of pharmacologic agents are available for insomnia. Barbiturates are the oldest agents that have been used for insomnia and include pentobarbital, secobarbital, and amobarbital. Barbiturates are currently not recommended because of their high abuse potential (due to rapid development of tolerance) and lethal potential in overdose situations. Barbiturates potentiate the GABAergic-induced increase in chloride ion conductance at low doses, and at high doses they depress calcium-dependent action potentials. Caution should be exercised in patients with marked renal or liver dysfunction, severe respiratory disease, suicidal tendencies, or history of alcohol/drug abuse. 

Numerous barbiturates and oral hypoglycemic sulfonyl-ureas also have aliphatic side chains that arc su.sceptible to oxidation. Note that the sedative hypnotic amobarbital (Amytal) undergoes extensive to - I oxidation to the corresponding 3 -hydroxylated metabolite.Other barbiturates, such as pentobarbital, thiamylal,and secobarbital," reportedly are metabolized by way of a and to - I oxidation. The ri-propyl side chain attached to the oral hypoglycemic agent chlorpropamide (Diabinc.se) undergoes extensive to -I hydroxylation to yield the secondary alcohol 2 -hydroxy-chlorpropamide as a major urinary metabolite in humans. " ... 

The barbiturates undergo extensive hepatic metabolism in which the C5 substituents are transformed to alcohols, phenols, ketones, or carboxylic acids these metabolites may be excreted in urine in part as glucuronide conjugates. For some barbiturates (amobarbital and phenobarbital), N-glucosylation is an additional important metabolic trans-... 

Trazodone is perhaps the most sedative antidepressant available, being more sedative than amitriptyline, trimi-pramine, doxepan, or imipramine. Therefore, death has occurred in patients taking trazodone with alcohol, chloral hydrate, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, meprobamate, or amobarbital. 

Alcohol, barbiturates, and narcotics—such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), amobarbital (Amytal), diazepam (Valium), codeine, heroin, methadone, morphine, propoxyphene (Darvon)—that are used during pregnancy can lead to harmful effects on the newborn. Use of these dmgs during pregnancy can create an addiction in the newborn. The baby will go into withdrawal from the drug when they are born. This can result in hyperactivity, crying, irritability, seizures and even sudden death. 

A study in healthy subjects of the effects of a single 0.5-g/kg dose of alcohol, taken in the morning after a dose of amobarbital 100 mg every night for 2 weeks, found that the performance of co-ordination skills was much more impaired than with either drug alone. ... 

A woman who had been taking tranylcypromine 10 mg twice daily for about 3 weeks, stopped taking it 3 days before she took a single tablet of imipramine. Within a few hours she complained of an excruciating headache, and soon afterwards lost consciousness and started to convulse. The toxic reactions manifested were a temperature of 40.6°C, pulse rate of 120 bpm, severe extensor rigidity, carpal spasm, opisthotonos and cyanosis. She was treated with amobarbital and phenytoin, and her temperature was reduced with alcohol-ice-soaked towels. The treatment was effective and she recovered. ... 

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