2. Sleep
Absence of wakefulness and markedly
reduced responsiveness to environment
stimuli
Why we sleep?
3. Not yet fully understood
Restoration of natural balance among the
neuronal centre in the brain
Association between the sleep and growth in
the early years of life
Normal person spend 1/3 of his/her life
4. Sleep cycle
Based on electrophysiological studies sleep
has been classified into two type:
Non Rapid Eye Movement sleep (NREM)
(Quite or Deep sleep)
– Consist of four or five alternative cycle
Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM)
(Paradoxical)
5. Non Rapid Eye Movement sleep
(NREM)
Deep sleep or quite sleep
Progression from 1 to 4 stages
Characterized by deeper level of sleep
Takes 90 to 120 minutes
6. Type of sleep disorder
Insomnia:
– Not enough sleep or sleep of poor quality
Hypersomnia
– Excessive daytime sleepiness
Parasomnia
– Unusual happening in the night
– Nightmares
– Night terror
– Sleepwalking (somnambulism)
7. SEDATIVE:
A drug that subdues excitement and calms
the patients without inducing sleep.
Sedation refers to decrease responsiveness
to any level of stimulation.
7 sedatives and hypnotics
8. HYPNOTICS:
A drug that induces sleep similar to normal
arousal sleep.
Both sedative and hypnotics are more or less
general CNS depressant
8 sedatives and hypnotics
10. Introduction (Barbiturates)
Oldest among sedative and hypnotic class
Due to no. of disadvantages
Low therapeutic index
Cause dependence
high abuse potential
Repeated use leads to the development of tolerance
Acute barbiturate withdrawal in drug abusers can cause
a fatal withdrawal syndrome
Drug has been largely replaced by newer drugs
11. 1. BARBITURATES
They are the CNS depressant used to sedate
the patients or to induce and maintain sleep.
These drugs produce dose-dependent effect.
Sedatives → Hypnotics → Anaesthesia →
Coma.
11 sedatives and hypnotics
12. Mechanism of action:
These drugs increased the life time of Cl –
channel opening induced by GABA.
At very high concentration barbiturates
depress voltage sensitive sodium and
potassium channel as well.
They also block excitatory glutamate
receptor.
12 sedatives and hypnotics
16. Classification: (as per duration of action)
Ultra-short acting : Thiopental
It acts within second.
Duration of action is about 30mins.
Used in intravenous induction of anaesthesia.
Short acting : Pentobarbitol, amobarbitol
It has duration of action 3-8hrs.
It is effective as antianxiety and sedative and
hypnotics.
Long acting: Phenobarbitone
1-2 days of duration of action
Used in the treatment of seizures.16 sedatives and hypnotics
17. Action:
1. CNS:
At low dose it produces sedation.
At higher dose the drug causes hypnosis
followed by anaesthesia and finally coma
and death.
17 sedatives and hypnotics
18. Action
The drugs do not have selective antianxiety
action.
It can impair learning, short term memory
loss and judgment.
They have no analgesic action.
Euphoric may be seen in addicts.
They may have anti-convulsant property.
18 sedatives and hypnotics
19. Action
2. Respiratory: Barbiturates suppress hypoxic
and chemoreceptors response to co2 and
over dose is followed by respiratory
depression and death.
19 sedatives and hypnotics
20. 3. Skeletal muscles: Anaesthetic dose reduce
muscle contraction by depressing excitability
of neuromuscular junction.
4. CVS: Hypnotic dose produce slight decrease
in BP and heart rate. It decreases cardiac
contractility
20 sedatives and hypnotics
21. Action
5. Kidney: It reduces urine flow by decreasing
BP and increasing ADH release.
6. Enzyme induction: It induces cytochrome
P450 microsomal enzymes in the liver.
Chronic administration reduces the action of
drugs that are dependent on P450
metabolism.
21 sedatives and hypnotics
22. Therapeutic uses:
Now, they are not used as hypnotics
and anxiolytics .
They are replaced by benzodiazepines.
Only ultra-short acting Thiopental are
used intravenously to induce
anaesthesia.
22 sedatives and hypnotics
23. Therapeutic uses:
Long acting phenobarbitone is used in
epilepsy.
They are used in long term management
of tonic-clonic seizure
They are sometimes used as adjuvant in
psychosomatic disorder.
23 sedatives and hypnotics
24. Pharmacokinetics:
They are absorbed orally
Distributed widely throughout the body.
They cross the placenta and secreted in the milk.
Low lipid solubility are excreted in the unchanged form by
the kidneys. i,e phenobarbital.
High lipid solubility are metabolized to more polar
compounds in the liver before being excreted via the
kidneys. i,e thiopental.
24 sedatives and hypnotics
25. Adverse effects:
Drug hangover
Nausea
dizziness.
CNS – causes drowsiness
impaired concentration
mental and physical sluggishness.
25 sedatives and hypnotics
26. Adverse effects:
Withdrawl symptoms cause tremor,
anxiety, weakness, restlessness, nausea and
vomiting and cardiac arrest due to tolerance
and dependence.
26 sedatives and hypnotics
27. Interaction:
Additive action with other CNS
depressant and alcohol.
Sodium valproate increases plasma
concentration of phenobarbitone.
They induce metabolism of many drugs
and reduce their effectiveness.eg.
warfarin, griseofulvin and OCP.
27 sedatives and hypnotics
30. Classification
Short acting with t ½ less then 5 hours
– Alprazolam, Triazolam
Intermediate acting t ½ 5-24 hours
– Nitrazepam, Lorazepam, Oxazepam, Temazepam
Long acting with t ½ longer then 24 hours
– Flurazepam, Daizepam, Chlordiazepoxide,
Chlorazepate
31. Site of action
Four main site where it exert their depressant
effects
Limbic system
– Regulation of emotional and behavioral responses
– GABA normally functions to inhibit excess stimulation
of limbic system.
32. Reticular formation system
– Regulates the degree of wakefulness and
alertness
– GABA normally functions to decrease the activity
of reticular formation.
– BZD which increases the inhibitory action of GABA
there by producing sleep
33. Cerebral cortex
– Excessive stimulation of cerebral cortex can
cause convulsion
Spinal cord
Helps regulate the degree of skeletal muscle tone
and responsiveness of spinal reflexes that also
maintain skeletal muscle activity
34. Mechanism of action:
They act on mid brain (wakefulness) and on
limbic system (thought and mental function).
Muscle relaxation is produced by a primary
medullary site of action and
Ataxia is due to action on cerebellum.
34 sedatives and hypnotics
35. Mechanism of action:
They act on the GABA receptor which is the
major inhibitory neurotransmitter.
Binding of GABA to its receptor triggers an
opening of a chloride channel, which leads to
a increase in chloride conductance.
35 sedatives and hypnotics
36. Mechanism of action:
The influx of chloride ion causes a small
hyperpolarization that moves the
postsynaptic potential away from its firing
threshold and thus inhibits the formation of
action potentials.
It enhances the frequency of cl- channel
opening.
36 sedatives and hypnotics
37.
38.
39. Action
CNS action: They increase onset of sleep
• reduce intermittent awakening
• increased total sleep time
• skeletal muscle relaxation
• decreases nocturnal gastric secretion and
prevents stress ulcers.
39 sedatives and hypnotics
40. Therapeutic uses:
Anxiety disorder: they are useful in treating
the anxiety. These drugs can produce
addiction, so should be used for severe
anxiety and only for short period of time.
40 sedatives and hypnotics
41. Therapeutic uses:
Muscular disorder: Useful in the treatment of
muscle spasms such as occurring in muscle
strain, in treating spasticity from multiple
sclerosis and cerebral palsy.
Amnesia: In premedication for endoscopic,
bronchoscopic and angioplasty.
41 sedatives and hypnotics
42. Therapeutic uses:
Seizure: In the treatment of epilepsy BZD are
used.
Sleep disorder: All BZD have sedative effect
on low dose and hypnotic effect on large
dose.
42 sedatives and hypnotics
43. Pharmacokinetics:
The drugs are lipophilic, they are rapidly and
completely absorbed after oral administration
and distribute throughout the body.
Most BZD are metabolized by the hepatic
microsomal system to compounds that are
also active.
43 sedatives and hypnotics
44. Pharmacokinetics:
All BZD cross the placental barrier and may
pass in the breast milk.
The drugs’ effects are terminated by
excretion and also by redistribution.
44 sedatives and hypnotics
45. Adverse effects:
Dizziness, vertigo, ataxia, disorientation,
amnesia,impairment of psychomotor skills.
Hangover may be seen on large dose.
Weakness, blurring of vision, dry mouth and
urinary incontinence.
Paradoxical stimulation, irritability and
sweating (Flurazepam).
45 sedatives and hypnotics
46. Interaction:
Alcohol enhance the effects of CNS
depressant.
CNS depressants enhance the sedative,
hypnotic effects of BZD.
Cimetidine, isoniazides and OCP retards the
BZD metabolism.
46 sedatives and hypnotics
47. BZD in pregnancy
Not certainly known to be use
Should be avoided
as animal study has shown Diazepam has
teratogenic effect on mice
Drug should be avoid in early pregnancy as
far as possible
48. BENZODIAZEPINE ANTAGONIST:
FLUMAZENIL:
It is a BZD analogue which competes with
BZD agonists for the BZD receptor and
reverses their depressant effects.
48 sedatives and hypnotics
49. BENZODIAZEPINE ANTAGONIST:
Flumazenil abolishes the hypnogenic,
psychomotor and cognitive effects of BZDs.
Flumazenil is absorbed orally; oral
bioavailability is -16%, but it is not used
orally.
On i.v. injection, action of flumazenil starts in
seconds and lasts for 1-2 hr; elimination tl/2
is 1 hr, due to rapid metabolism.
49 sedatives and hypnotics
50. Uses:
1. To reverse BZD anaesthesia: An i.v.
injection of 0.3-1 mg of flumazenil.
2. BZD overdose: 0.2 mg/min may be injected
i.v. till the patient regains consciousness.
50 sedatives and hypnotics
51. Adverse effects:
Flumazenil is safe and well tolerated.
Agitation, discomfort, tearfulness, anxiety,
coldness and withdrawal seizures are the
occasional.
51 sedatives and hypnotics