Transcript Depressants
Classes/Types of Depressants
1.
Anesthetics
2. Barbiturates
3. Benzodiazepines (anxiolytics - _____
)
Many
labels have been used to
describe them, which can be confusing:
-tranquilizers
-sleeping pills
-anti-anxiety pills
-sedatives
Depressants
Mechanism
of action:
• GABA: acts mainly on inhibitory receptors
– taking off the brakes
– e.g. GHB (gamma hydroxy butyrate)
• Separate receptors identified for
barbiturates and benzos
Etherdome
History / Development
of Depressants
Nitrous
oxide (1776) (laughing gas)
• development of ether, (MGH-etherdome)
a flammable liquid which vaporizes at room
temperature
Chloral hydrate, bromides, paraldehyde
Barbiturates
came next in 1860s
• ___________________________
• ___________________________
• ___________________________
Barbiturates
USES:
• some used as anesthetics if they work
quickly and then wear off
• others used to prevent seizures because
their sedating effects lasted longer
• often used as sleeping pills and anxiolytics
Barbiturate Use 2010
For example, Nembutal®, Pentobarbital, Seconal®,
Secobarbital, or Butalbital.
Source: SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies, National
Survey on Drug Use and Health.
BARBITURATE USE declined due
to their unwanted effects:
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
____________________________
withdrawal SX similar to alcohol:
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Quaaludes (Methaqualone)
came next in the 50s and 60s and were
developed as alternatives to barbs for
sleep/anxiety disorders
they became a street drug;
now a schedule I drug
no longer produced for medical reasons
Depressants (con’t)
Benzodiazepines
• classic anti-anxiety drugs
• synthesized initially in 1950s
• more potent in 1960s with the advent of
______________________
• similar to barbs but less dangerous in that:
– ____________________________________
– ____________________________________
_____________________________________
Depressants
Benzodiazepines
• Withdrawal symptoms: increased
anxiety, insomnia, tremors, sweating
• Dangers: ___________________
___________________
what are the clinical implications of
treating anxiety with drugs?
difficult to estimate non-medical misuse
or abuse of sedatives and tranquilizers
Benzodiazepine Misuse?
2010
Includes Klonopin® or clonazepam, Xanax®, or alprazolam, Ativan®, or
lorazepam, Valium® or diazepam, Librium®, Limbitrol®, Rohypnol®, Serax®,
and Tranxene®.
The case of Rohypnol
(flunitrazepam)
a.k.a.
roofies, rib, circles, wolfies, rope,
ropies, ruffies, roach-2, “roaches” after
drug company Hoffman-La Roche
• a Benzodiazepine used in the short-term
treatment of insomnia and as a preanesthetic medication
• similar to valium in effect but 10 times
stronger
• effects begin within 30 minutes, may last for
8 hours or more
Rohypnol
made in Europe and Latin America and sold
by prescription there, not in U.S. so it is
usually smuggled via mail into country, or
comes across Mexican border
distribution
and abuse especially in
southwest & south
low cost < $5 per tab
popularity among young people; “Said to be
south Florida’s fastest growing drug problem”
Rohypnol
2
COMMON MISPERCEPTIONS:
• ________________________________
• ________________________________
Adverse Effects of Rohypnol
memory impairment, drowsiness, dizziness,
confusion; can induce excitability or
aggressiveness in some users
can cause dependence: tolerance may develop;
withdrawal symptoms include - headaches,
anxiety, muscle pain, confusion, restlessness,
numbness, tingling of extremities, convulsions
and cardiac problems
Rohypnol
used
in date rape situations….WHY?
• ___________________________________
• __________________________________
• __________________________________
used
to augment an alcohol high without
elevating BAL
used as a “parachute” or remedy for depression
that follows a stimulant high
Inhalants
Use
varies as products “huffed” or
sniffed include gasoline, glues, aerosol
cans, paint solvents and lighter fluid
Mostly young kids, adolescents
highly destructive to brain with OD
potential
can cause cardiac arrest, known as
"sudden sniffing death."
Inhalants
Sniffing has been a fairly steady trend among 12year-olds in recent years, with lifetime rate between
7.7 percent and 6.1 percent since 2002.
1.1 % of children ages 12 to 17 engaged in sniffing
in 2008, compared with 6.7 % who smoked
marijuana.