hypnotics and sedative drugs and mechanism of action of drugs

1. SEDATIVE-HYPNOTIC
DRUGS

2. Normal sleep consists of distinct stages,based on
three physiologic measures like
electroencephalogram, the electromyogram, and the
electronystagmogram.
Non-rapid eye movement(NREM) sleep: 70%-75%
Stage 1,2
Stage 3,4:slow wave sleep, SWS
Rapid eye movement(REM) sleep
NORMAL SLEEP

3. BASIC PHARMACOLOGY OF
SEDATIVE-HYPNOTICS
• Sedative:
These are the drugs which reduces excitement are
called as sedative.
• Hypnotic:
• These are the drug which induce sleep resembling
natural sleep.
• It also produce drowsiness and encourage the onset and
maintenance of a state of sleep that as far as possible
resembles the natural sleep state.

4. BASIC PHARMACOLOGY OF
SEDATIVE-HYPNOTICS
• Hypnotic effects involve more pronounced depression
of the central nervous system than sedation, and this
can be achieved with most sedative drugs simply by
increasing the dose.
• Graded dose-dependent depression of central nervous
system function is a characteristic of sedative-
hypnotics.

5. CLASSIFICATION
1. Barbiturates:
i) Long acting barbiturates:
Duration of action is 8 hours or more.
Ex- Barbitone, Phenobarbitone
ii) Intermediate acting barbiturates:
Duration of action is 4 hours.
Ex- Amylobarbitone, Cyclobarbirone
iii) Short acting barbiturates:
Duration of action less than 4 hours.
Ex- Hexobarbitone, secobarbitone
iv) Ultra short acting barbiturates:
Duration of action less than 1 hours.
Ex- Thiopentone, Metohexitone

6. 2. Non – Barbiturates:
i) Benzodizepines:
Ex- Diazepam, Nitrozepam, Oxazepam
ii) Alcoholes:
Ex- Chloral hydrate
iii) Aldehydes:
Ex- Paraldehyde
iv) Miscellaneous:
Ex- Hyoscine

8. BARBITURATES
Barbiturates depress the CNS at all level in
a dose-dependent fashion. Now it mainly
used in anaesthesia and treatment of
epilepsy; use as sedative-hypnotic agents is
no longer recommended.

9. BARBITURATES
Reasons:
(1) have a narrow therapeutic-to-toxic dosage
range.
(2) suppress REM sleep.
(3) Tolerance develops relatively quickly.
(4) have a high potential for physical
dependence and abuse.
(5) potent inducers of hepatic drug-
metabolising enzymea.

10. MECHANISM OF ACTION
(1) Barbiturates share with benzodiazepines
the ability to enhance the action of GABA,
but they bind a different site on the GABA-
receptor/chloride channel, and their action
seems to prolong the duration of the
opening of GABA-activated chloride
channels.

11. MECHANISM OF ACTION
(2) At high doses, barbiturates can inhibit the
release of the Ca2+
-dependent
neurotransmitter.

12. Pharmacokinetics
• High lipid solubility allows rapid transport across
the blood-brain barrier and results in a short onset.
• Removal from the brain occurs via redistribution
to the other tissues results in short duration of
action.
• Barbiturates and their metabolites the excretion
via the renal route. Alkalinization of the urine
expedites the excretion of barbiturates. Treatment
of acute overdosage: Sodium bicarbonate.

13. Adverse effects
• After effect: hangover---dizzy, drowsiness,
amnesia, impaired judgment, disorientation.
• Tolerance: decreased responsiveness to a drug
following repeated exposure because of down-
regulation of receptors and induction of hepatic
drug-metabolising enzymes.

14. Adverse effects
• Dependence: including psychologic and
physiologic dependence. Withdrawal symptoms:
excitation, insomnia, tremor, anxiety,
hallucinations and sometimes convulsions.
• Depressant effect on respiration: can cross the
placental barrier during pregnancy and secrete to
breast milk.
• Others: Skin eruptions and porphyria

15. Therapeutic uses
• Sedative-hypnotic agents
• Be used in the emergency treatment of
convulsions as in status epilepticus.
• Anesthetic (or be given before anesthetic)
• Combination with antipyretic-analgesic
• Treatment of hyperbilirubinemia and
kernicterus in the neonate.

16. Treatment of acute over dosage
• An overdose can result in coma, diminished
reflexes, severe respiratory depression,
hypotension leading to cardiovascular collapse,
and renal failure.
• Treatment :
(1) supporting respiration and circulation.
(2) alkalinizing the urine and promoting diuresis.
(3) Hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis.

17. Ⅰ.Benzodiazepines
• The first benzodiazepine, chlordiazepoxide,
was synthesised by accident in 1961.

18. Ⅰ.Benzodiazepines
• Derivative of 1,4- benzodiazepines. About 20
are available for clinical use. They are basically
similar in their pharmacological actions, though
some degree of selectivity has been reported. It
is possible that selectivity with respect to two
types of benzodiazepine receptor may account
for these differences. From a clinical point of
view, difference in pharmacokinetic behaviour
are more important than difference in profile of
activity.

19. PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECTS
1. Reduction of anxiety and aggression :
affects the hippocampus and nucleus amygdalae
2. Sedation and induction of sleep:
(1) the latency of sleep onset is decreased;
(2) the duration of stage 2 NREM sleep is
increased;
(3) the duration of slow-wave sleep is
decreased.

20. PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Reasons for their extensive clinical use:
(1) great margin of safety;
(2) little effect on REM sleep;
(3) little hepatic microsomal drug-metabolizing
enzymes;
(4) slight physiologic and psychologic
dependence and withdrawal syndrome;
(5) less adverse effects such as residual
drowsiness and in coordination movement.

21. 3. Anticonvulsant and antiseizure
They are highly effective against chemically
induced convulsions caused by leptazol,
bicuculline and similar drugs but less so
against electrically induced convulsions.
The can enhance GABA-mediated synaptic
systems and inhibit excitatory transmission.

22. 4. Muscle relaxation
relax contracted muscle in joint diease or muscle
pasm.
5. Other effects
lead to temporary amnesia
decrease the dosage of anesthetic;
depress respiratory and cardiovascular fuction.

23. MECHANISM OF ACTION
• Benzodiazepines act very selectively on GABAA-
receptors, which mediate the fast inhibitory
synaptic response produced by activity in GABA-
ergic neurons.
• The effect of benzodiazepines is to enhance the
response to GABA, by facilitating the opening of
GABA-activated chloride channels (an increase
in the frequency of channel opening, but no
change in the conductance or mean open time).

24. MECHANISM OF ACTION
• Benzodiazepines bind specifically to a regulatory
site on the receptor, distinct from the GABA
binding site, and enhanced receptor affinity for
GABA.
• The GABAA-receptors is a ligand-gated ion
channel consisting of a pentameric assembly of
subunits.

25. PHARMACOKINETIC ASPECTS
• Well absorbed when given orally;
• They bind strongly to plasma protein, and
their high lipid solubility cause many of
them to accumulate gradually in body fat.
Distribution volumes is big.
• Metabolic transformation in the microsomal
drug-metabolizing enzyme systems of the
liver, eventually excreted as glucuronide
conjugates in the urine.

26. • They vary greatly in duration of action, and
can be roughly divided into
– Short-acting compounds: triazolam,
oxazepam(15-30min, t1/2 2-3 h)
– Medium-acting compounds: estazolam,
nitrazepam (40min, t1/2 5-8 h)
– Long-acting compounds: diazepam,
flurazepam(50h)

27. ADVERSE DRUG REACTION
• Acute toxicity: Benzodiazepines in acute
overdose are considerably less dangerous
than other sedative-hypnotic drugs. Cause
prolonged sleep,without serious depression
of respiration or cardiovascular. The
availability of an effective antagonist,
flumazenil.

28. ADVERSE DRUG REACTION
• Side-effects during therapeutic use:
drowsiness, confusion, amnesia, impaired
coordination. Main disadvantages are
interaction with alcohol, long-lasting
hangover and the development of
dependence.
• Tolerance and dependence: induction
of hepatic drug-metabolising enzymes; a
change at the receptor level;

29. Ⅲ.Nonbarbiturate sedative-hypnotics
Alcoholes-
Chloral hydrate:
(1) Relatively safe hypnotic, inducing sleep
in a half hour and lasting about 6h.
(2) Used mainly in children and the elder,
and the patients when failed to other drug.

30. Aldehyde-
Paraldehyde:
i) It is given by oral route, intramuscular and rectally.
ii) It is safe hypnotic, not prone to depress the cardiac
function.
iii) It produce hypnosis in 15 min, which may last for 4 to 8
hours.
iv) It may also be used to control seizures arising from
tetanus, poisons and status epilepticus.
Hyoscine:
i) It is use to prevent motion sickness by its sedative
action and is very effective. It is also used for suppress the
unwanted secretions during anaesthesia and to reduce the
skeletal muscle rigidity to paralysis agitans.