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Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Benzodiazepines

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines have both sedative and hypnotic properties. They include compounds such as diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax). Structurally, their cores are similar, consisting of the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring, but they share a common mechanism of action in the central nervous system (CNS).
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Melatonin congeners like ramelteon (Rozerem) and tasimelteon (Hetlioz) selectively bind to melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) and thus mimic the actions of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Tasimelteon is primarily used for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, common in blind patients. They are also used to treat conditions like insomnia...

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Intravenous anesthetics are drugs administered parenterally to induce anesthesia or sedation. Propofol is a widely used agent formulated as a 1% emulsion in soybean oil, glycerol, and egg phosphatide. It induces rapid anesthesia primarily due to its rapid distribution from the bloodstream to target tissues and is metabolized in the liver. However, it can cause significant pain on injection and hypertriglyceridemia. Fospropofol, a water-based prodrug of propofol, lacks these adverse effects.

Sedatives and Hypnotics: Overview

Sedatives and Hypnotics: Overview

Sedatives are drugs that alleviate anxiety, while hypnotics induce sleep. Both classes of medication suppress neuronal activity, leading to a calming effect for sedatives and facilitating sleep for hypnotics.
Sedative-hypnotics are categorized into barbiturates, benzodiazepines (BZDs), and non-benzodiazepines or Z-drugs. These drugs work by suppressing central nervous system activity, and this suppression is dose-dependent. Older sedative medications, like barbiturates, follow a linear curve in...

Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview

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Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Barbiturates

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Urethral Stricture Induction Followed by Buccal Mucosa Graft Urethroplasty in a Rat Model

Urethral Stricture Induction Followed by Buccal Mucosa Graft Urethroplasty in a Rat Model

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Dexmedetomidine: an updated review.

Anthony T Gerlach¹, Joseph F Dasta

¹The Ohio State University Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Gerlach.6@osu.edu

The Annals of Pharmacotherapy

|February 15, 2007

Summary

Dexmedetomidine, an alpha-2 agonist, is a safe and effective sedative for critically ill patients. It offers comparable sedation and extubation times to propofol with reduced opioid use, though hypotension and bradycardia are potential side effects.

Area of Science:

Anesthesiology
Critical Care Medicine
Pharmacology

Background:

Dexmedetomidine is an alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist.
It is utilized for its sedative and analgesic properties.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct a literature review on the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine.
To evaluate its use in various clinical settings.

Main Methods:

Literature search of MEDLINE (1966-January 2007) using keywords: dexmedetomidine, medetomidine, alpha(2)-agonist, sedation.
Inclusion of experimental and observational studies on human subjects.

Main Results:

Dexmedetomidine is effective for short-term sedation in critically ill patients.

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Compared to propofol, it showed similar sedation and extubation times with lower opioid requirements in postoperative patients.

Common adverse effects include hypotension, hypertension, and bradycardia.

Extended use beyond 24 hours did not appear to cause rebound hypertension or tachycardia.

Conclusions:

Dexmedetomidine is a safe and effective sedative for critically ill patients.
Further research is needed to establish its role in medical, neurosurgical, and pediatric sedation, as well as adjunct anesthesia and procedural sedation.