Migraine is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches. Typically, the associated headache affects one side of the head, is pulsating in nature, may be moderate to severe in intensity, and could last from a few hours to three days. Non-headache symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound, or smell. The pain is generally made worse by physical activity during an attack, although regular physical exercise may prevent future attacks. Up to one-third of people affected have aura: typically, it is a short period of visual disturbance that signals that the headache will soon occur. Occasionally, aura can occur with little or no headache following, but not everyone has this symptom.
Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.
A medication overuse headache (MOH), also known as a rebound headache, usually occurs when painkillers are taken frequently to relieve headaches. These cases are often referred to as painkiller headaches. Rebound headaches frequently occur daily, can be very painful and are a common cause of chronic daily headache. They typically occur in patients with an underlying headache disorder such as migraine or tension-type headache that "transforms" over time from an episodic condition to chronic daily headache due to excessive intake of acute headache relief medications. MOH is a serious, disabling and well-characterized disorder, which represents a worldwide problem and is now considered the third-most prevalent type of headache. Population-based studies report the prevalence rate of MOH to be 1% to 2% in the general population, but its relative frequency is much higher in secondary and tertiary care.
A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug that lowers neurotransmission levels, which is to depress or reduce arousal or stimulation, in various areas of the brain. Depressants are also colloquially referred to as downers as they lower the level of arousal when taken. Stimulants or "uppers" increase mental or physical function, hence the opposite drug class of depressants is stimulants, not antidepressants.
Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is an uncommon neurological condition in which the primary symptom is that affected individuals see persistent flickering white, black, transparent, or coloured dots across the whole visual field. Other common symptoms are palinopsia, enhanced entoptic phenomena, photophobia, and headaches. The condition is typically always present and has no known cure, as viable treatments are still under research. Migraine and tinnitus are common comorbidities and are both associated with a more severe presentation of the syndrome.
An induced coma – also known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced coma – is a temporary coma brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as pentobarbital or thiopental. Other intravenous anesthetic drugs such as midazolam or propofol may be used.
Butalbital/acetaminophen, sold under the brand name Butapap among others, is a combination medication used to treat tension headaches and migraine headaches. It contains butalbital, a barbiturate and paracetamol (acetaminophen), an analgesic. Versions also containing caffeine are sold under the brand name Fioricet among others. It is taken by mouth. The combination is also sold with codeine.
Talbutal (Lotusate) is a barbiturate with a short to intermediate duration of action. It is a structural isomer of butalbital. Talbutal is a schedule III drug in the U.S.
Butalbital is a barbiturate with an intermediate duration of action. Butalbital is often combined with other medications, such as paracetamol (acetaminophen) or aspirin, for the treatment of pain and headache. The various formulations combined with codeine are FDA-approved for the treatment of tension headaches. Butalbital has the same chemical formula as talbutal but a different structure—one that presents as 5-allyl-5-isobutylbarbituric acid.
Pizotifen (INN) or pizotyline (USAN), trade name Sandomigran, is a benzocycloheptene-based drug used as a medicine, primarily as a preventive to reduce the frequency of recurrent migraine headaches.
Aprobarbital, sold as Oramon, Somnifaine, and Allonal, is a barbiturate derivative invented in the 1920s by Ernst Preiswerk. It has sedative, hypnotic and anticonvulsant properties, and was used primarily for the treatment of insomnia. Aprobarbital was never as widely used as more common barbiturate derivatives such as phenobarbital and is now rarely prescribed as it has been replaced by newer drugs with a better safety margin.
Cyclopentobarbital sodium is a barbiturate derivative invented in the 1940s. It has sedative and anticonvulsant properties, and was used primarily as an anaesthetic in veterinary medicine. Cyclopal is considered similar in effects to phenobarbital but lasts almost three times as long, and is considered a long-acting barbiturate with a fairly slow onset of action.
Apronal, or apronalide, also known as allylisopropylacetylurea or allylisopropylacetylcarbamide, is a hypnotic/sedative drug of the ureide (acylurea) group synthesized in 1926 by Hoffmann-La Roche that is no longer used except in Japan. Though it is not a barbiturate, apronalide is similar in structure to the barbiturates. In accordance, it is similar in action to the barbiturates, although considerably milder in comparison. Upon the finding that it caused patients to develop thrombocytopenic purpura, apronalide was withdrawn from clinical use.
Valofane is a sedative drug structurally related to the barbiturates and similar drugs such as primidone. It is metabolized once inside the body to form the barbiturate proxibarbital (proxibarbal) and is thus a prodrug.
Bogusław Bobrański was a Polish chemist. He was the rector of Wrocław Medical University from 1957 - 1962.
Benzylbutylbarbiturate is a rare example of a barbiturate designer drug, possibly the only such compound encountered in recent years.
Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as well as overdose potential among other possible adverse effects. They have been used recreationally for their anxiolytic and sedative effects, and are thus controlled in most countries due to the risks associated with such use.
Barbiturate overdose is poisoning due to excessive doses of barbiturates. Symptoms typically include difficulty thinking, poor coordination, decreased level of consciousness, and a decreased effort to breathe. Complications of overdose can include noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. If death occurs this is typically due to a lack of breathing.
Barbiturate dependence develops with regular use of barbiturates. This in turn may lead to a need for increasing doses of the drug to get the original desired pharmacological or therapeutic effect. Barbiturate use can lead to both addiction and physical dependence, and as such they have a high potential for excess or non-medical use, however, it does not affect all users. Management of barbiturate dependence involves considering the affected person's age, comorbidity and the pharmacological pathways of barbiturates.
Thiotetrabarbital is a drug which is a short-acting barbiturate derivative that is used as an anesthetic. It has been used in veterinary medicine.
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