OBJECTIVE The authors conducted a postal survey to establish what the current sedative and analgesic practice in selected Australian intensive care units was. METHODS A questionnaire based on a European e-mail survey was devised and then posted to directors and senior Intensivists in 72 Australian intensive care units. RESULTS There were 47 returns out of 72 units. The most commonly used dr...

Benzylacetone is released by heated agarwood, when inhaled it has a potent effect on reducing the locomotor activity of mice. This study investigated the relationships between the sedative activities of benzylacetone and its derivatives as well as the chemical structures of these compounds by comparing their activities in mice treated with a series of compounds. It was demonstrated that benzyla...

Background Psychotropic medications work on the brain to affect mental function and behaviour. For over 20 years, concern has been raised over the overuse of psychotropic medication, particularly antipsychotics and benzodiazepines (‘sedatives’) in nursing homes. The Reducing Use of Sedatives (RedUSe) project was developed as a multistrategic, interdisciplinary initiative aimed to promote the qu...

Anxiety is a most common emotional disorder affecting 20% of adult population worldwide. Eclipta alba is having memory enhancing quality & traditionally used for this purpose. Since paucity of data available for this clinical use, the present work was undertaken to study the anti anxiety & sedative effects of Ethanolic extract of leaves of Eclipta alba(EEEA) in albino rats using thiopental sodi...

The sedative effects of pentazocine 50 mg given orally have been studied in 100 healthy gynaecological patients using a standard scoring system. It was found that pentazocine produced mild sedation which was not significantly greater than that produced by a placebo in the numbers studied. The incidence of complications was low and while there was a higher incidence of postoperative nausea and v...

An acute allergic reaction in a 5-year-old healthy male, after receiving midazolam by intranasal atomizer for sedation purposes in the dental clinic, was reported. Shortly after the midazolam was provided, the child developed urticaria in both ankles, which rapidly progressed to the lower extremities, stomach, back, arms, neck, and face. The periorbital skin also became edematous. In the emerge...

In this study, we investigated the sedative and hypnotic effects of the aqueous extract of Aloe vera on rats. In order to evaluate the overall hypnotic effects of the Aloe vera extract, open field and loss of righting reflex tests were primarily used. The sedative and hypnotic effects of the extract were then confirmed by detection of remarkable raise in the total sleeping time through analysis...

The ideal sedative or analgesic agent should have a rapid onset of activity, a rapid recovery after drug discontinuation, a predictable dose response, a lack of drug accumulation,and no toxicity. Unfortunately, none of the earlier analgesics, the benzodiazepines,or propofol share all of these characteristics. Patients who are critically ill experience numerous physiologic derangements and commo...

3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid (TMCA) is one of the constituents in Onji (roots of Polygala tenuifolia WILLD), an herbal medicine used for sedative in Japanese traditional Kampo medicine. Our previous study revealed that oral administration of this compound prolongs sleeping time induced by hexobarbital in mice to exhibit sedative action. In the present study, we investigate the effects of TMCA ...

OBJECTIVES To quantify and compare potential benefits (subjective reports of sleep variables) and risks (adverse events and morning-after psychomotor impairment) of short term treatment with sedative hypnotics in older people with insomnia. DATA SOURCES Medline, Embase, the Cochrane clinical trials database, PubMed, and PsychLit, 1966 to 2003; bibliographies of published reviews and meta-anal...