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Related Concept Videos

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents01:17

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents

Sedatives and hypnotics encompass a wide range of substances, each with its unique mechanism of action, uses, and potential adverse effects.
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...
Management of Insomnia01:19

Management of Insomnia

The sleep cycle, an integral part of human health, consists of several stages with distinct characteristics and functions. It begins with a transition from wakefulness to sleep, known as the light sleep phase, followed by the restorative deep sleep phase, essential for physical recovery and growth. The cycle concludes with the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase, characterized by high brain activity and vivid dreaming. Insomnia, a prevalent sleep disorder, involves difficulty falling asleep, staying...
Sedatives and Hypnotics: Overview01:23

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...
Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents01:23

Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents

Atypical antidepressants, including bupropion (Wellbutrin), mirtazapine (Remeron), nefazodone (Serzone), trazodone (Desyrel), and vilazodone (Viibryd), offer unique mechanisms of action. Bupropion weakly inhibits dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake, aiding depression treatment and smoking cessation, with a low risk of sexual dysfunction. Mirtazapine enhances serotonin and norepinephrine neurotransmission, leading to sedation, increased appetite, and weight gain. As a result, it helps treat...
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Benzodiazepines01:19

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).
Benzodiazepines work by enhancing the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. They bind to the GABAA receptor, increasing its affinity for GABA, which opens chloride...
CNS Depressants: Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines01:14

CNS Depressants: Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines

CNS depressants include drugs from the category of barbiturates and benzodiazepines. They are valuable medications for managing anxiety disorders and insomnia. Barbiturates, once used to induce and maintain sleep, have been replaced mainly by benzodiazepines due to barbiturate's toxicity, tolerance, and overdose risks. They interact with GABAA receptors, leading to sedation at low doses and potentially coma and death at higher doses. Phenobarbital, a long-acting barbiturate, possesses...

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High-Throughput Small Molecule Drug Screening For Age-Related Sleep Disorders Using Drosophila melanogaster
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Update on emerging drugs for insomnia.

Shannon Sullivan

    Expert Opinion on Emerging Drugs
    |August 28, 2012
    PubMed
    Summary

    Chronic insomnia affects many US adults, causing significant lost productivity. New drug targets, like the orexin system, are being explored to develop more effective insomnia therapies.

    Area of Science:

    • Neuroscience
    • Pharmacology

    Background:

    • Chronic insomnia remains a significant public health issue in US adults, leading to substantial economic losses from decreased productivity.
    • The low proportion of treated insomniacs highlights an unmet need for novel and effective therapeutic interventions.

    Discussion:

    • Hypnotic drug development is increasingly focusing on the orexin (hypocretin) system, with Merck's suvorexant (a dual orexin receptor antagonist) nearing FDA submission.
    • Exploration of other targets, including CNS histamine and GABA(A) receptors, alongside existing agents like doxepin and zolpidem, continues.
    • Past experiences with melatonin and serotonin modulators suggest the existence of additional viable drug targets for insomnia.

    Key Insights:

    • The development of dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) represents a novel approach to insomnia treatment.

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  • Diversifying therapeutic targets can enable personalized hypnotic medication strategies tailored to individual patient needs and underlying mechanisms.
  • Exploring new targets may facilitate better integration of pharmacological treatments with non-drug therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).

    • Outlook:

    • Continued research into novel insomnia drug targets is crucial for expanding treatment options.
    • Personalized medicine approaches in insomnia pharmacotherapy are likely to become more prevalent.
    • Combination therapies, integrating novel medications with CBT-I, hold promise for improved patient outcomes.