Soporific drug

Amobarbital is used as a soporific drug in various forms of insomnia and as a sedative and anticonvulsant drug. The most frequently used synonyms are barbamil, amital, and hypnamil. 

Talbutal differs from butabarbital in that a sec-butyl radical is used in talbutal, whereas in butabarbital, an isobutyl radical can be used as a substituent on C,. Talbutal is used as a sedative, soporific drug for the same indications as butabital. Synonyms for this drug are profundol, lotusate, and others. 

Pare s description, like that of Du Laurens, portrays sleep as a temporary death, a cessation from sense and motion. The mind slips into suspension—possessed, overcome, and dulled, losing any possibility of control—while simultaneously the spirits lack the strength to sustain the body. In fact, the medical disorder of excessive sleep is explicitly linked with the idea of death Barrough lists a lengthy catalog of sleep disorders that, somewhat monotonously, all come to be equated with death.35 Like soporific drugs, sleep is understood as containing both medicinal and poisonous potential. 

Several representatives of the genus Piper (Piperaceae) are of economic importance. Some of these plants [e.g.. Piper nigrum (black pepper)] include alkaloids that are partially responsible for the desirable pungent and preservative properties of the plant. Other species are P. hetle (widely used as a masticatory), P. methysticum (widely used in the South Pacific as a soporific drug), and P. guineense (ashanti pepper). Most of these plants contain compounds that combine phenylpropanoid compounds see Chapter 8) and pyr-... 

Acetophenone is a colourless compound, havtng m.p. 20° and b.p. 201° except in cold weather it is therefore usually a liquid, of dy I 03. It has only a faint odour. Acetophenone was at one time used medicinally under the name of hypnone as a soporific, but for this purpose it has now been largely superseded by other and more suitable drugs. 

In general, nonopioid analgesics are characterized by three fundamental types of action analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and fever-reducing action, which are used for alleviation of headaches, myalgia, arthralgia, and that do not have sedative or soporific effects. Euphoria, addiction, and drug dependence do not result from their use. 

Sedation is an intermediate degree of CNS depression, while hypnosis is a degree of CNS depression similar to natural sleep. From the chemical point of view, soporific, sedative, and hypnotic drugs are classified as barbiturates, benzodiazepine hypnotics, and so on. Except for a few rare exceptions, any one of these compounds can be used for acquiring a sedative effect or state of sleep. Presently, the less toxic benzodiazepines are edging out the class of barbiturates more and more because of the possibility of chronic dependence associated with the use of barbiturates. Drugs of both classes are primarily CNS depressants, and a few of their effects, if not all, are evidently linked to action on the GABA-receptor complex. 

Phenobarbital exhibits relaxant, soporific, and anticonvulsant activities. It is widely used in treating epilepsy, chorea, and spastic paralysis, and is used as a component of a large number of combined drugs, valocordin and corvalol in particular. The most common synonyms are luminal, fenemal, hypnotal, and several others. 

Pentobarbital is basically considered an isomer of amobarbital. They are similar in terms of action, and the difference lies in the fact that pentobarbital is shorter lasting and easier to tolerate. It is used as a relaxant as well as a soporific for short-term insomnia. The most frequently used synonym of this drug is nembutal. 

Trifluperidol is a powerful antipsychotic drug. It enhances the action of soporifics, narcotics, and analgesics. It also possesses anticonvulsant and antiemetic action. 

Primidone is chemically and structurally similar to phenobarbital with the exception that the carbonyl group on Cj is replaced by a methylene group. This modification leads to the production of a drug with strong anticonvulsant properties without expressed soporific effects. 

Soporific Agents (Hypnotics and Sedative Drugs), Pages 57-68... 

Benzodiazepines are also used for several other conditions that are related to, but not actually termed, anxiety. For example, benzodiazepines are commonly given as soporific or hypnotic drugs (drugs that help people sleep). One of the benzodiazepines, flurazepam, is the most frequently prescribed hypnotic drug in the United States. Benzodiazepines also are administered as muscle relaxants, and can even reduce the occurrence of seizures or convulsions. Another common use of benzodiazepines is in alcohol withdrawal. Someone who is trying to stop drinking alcohol is usually given a heavy dose of... 

Both prescription and over-the-counter antihistamines are the most commonly pre-scribed/recommended sedatives in pediatric practice. They bind to Hi receptors in the CNS, with only the first generation medications crossing the blood-brain barrier. They are generally rapidly absorbed. Effects on sleep architecture are minimal. Side effects include daytime drowsiness, cholinergic effects and paradoxical excitation. In general, these drugs are rather weak soporifics, but parental and provider familiarity tend to make them a more acceptable choice for many families. 

What was this soporific, this stupefying drug that restrained even the deepest sense of grief and sorrow No one really knows. There is no reason for Homer not to have identified it if he had some specific drug in mind. 

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