We describe the successful use of methadone in the restoration of sedation and provision of analgesia in two morphine-tolerant, paediatric patients who had suffered significant thermal injuries and were undergoing mechanical ventilation. Both patients had exhibited escalating requirements for sedative drugs while undergoing ventilation yet remained inadequately sedated. The introduction of i.v....

The two main non-sedative effects of thalidomide (2-phtalimido-glutarimide) in man are the embryopathy, which finally forced termination of its use as a sedative, and the excellent efficacy in leprosy reactions, alone for whose prevention and treatment the drug is still available. Both effects can be explained on the molecular level by assuming that a non-sedative metabolite of thalidomide medi...

Background: Children often require sedation for long non-invasive diagnostic procedures. Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist with sedative, anxiolytic and analgesic properties. It mimics natural sleep allows patients to easily arouse minimal effects on respiration airway patency. Objective: To assess the successful completion of pediatric procedures intranasal dex...

Astemizole and terfenadine, two potent non-sedative H1 antihistamines, had no effect on itch measured objectively as nocturnal scratching and subjectively on a 10 cm line. Trimeprazine, however, a more sedative but less potent H1 antihistamine, was antipruritic, as was nitrazepam, a sedative benzodiazepine. We concluded (a) that antipruritic drugs act centrally by a property related to sedation...

The present study was undertaken to evaluate Tagara and Jatamansi for certain CNS activities to ascertain the basis for their use as a sedative and hypnotics. The drugs were evaluated for hypnotic and sedative, anti anxiety, anti depressant and anti psychotic activities using standard experimental protocol. The data generated suggests that the test drugs Tagara and Jatamansi have complex CNS ac...

OBJECTIVE In critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation, daily interruption of sedative infusions decreases duration of mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit length of stay. Whether this sedation strategy reduces the incidence of complications commonly associated with critical illness is not known. DESIGN Blinded, retrospective chart review. SETTING University-based h...

Despite its pharmacological relevance, the mechanism of the development of tolerance to the action of benzodiazepines is essentially unknown. The acute sedative action of diazepam is mediated via alpha1-GABA(A) receptors. Therefore, we tested whether chronic activation of these receptors by diazepam is sufficient to induce tolerance to its sedative action. Knock-in mice, in which thealpha1-,alp...