The GABAA receptor (GABAAR) is an ionotropic receptor and ligand-gated ion channel. Its endogenous ligand is γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Accurate regulation of GABAergic transmission through appropriate developmental processes, specificity to neural cell types, and responsiveness to activity is crucial for the proper functioning of nearly all aspects of the central nervous system (CNS). Upon opening, the GABAA receptor on the postsynaptic cell is selectively permeable to chloride ions and, to a lesser extent, bicarbonate ions.
Alpidem, sold under the brand name Ananxyl, is a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic medication which was briefly used to treat anxiety disorders but is no longer marketed. It was previously marketed in France, but was discontinued due to liver toxicity. Alpidem is taken by mouth.
Bretazenil (Ro16-6028) is an imidazopyrrolobenzodiazepine anxiolytic drug which is derived from the benzodiazepine family, and was invented in 1988. It is most closely related in structure to the GABA antagonist flumazenil, although its effects are somewhat different. It is classified as a high-potency benzodiazepine due to its high affinity binding to benzodiazepine binding sites where it acts as a partial agonist. Its profile as a partial agonist and preclinical trial data suggests that it may have a reduced adverse effect profile. In particular bretazenil has been proposed to cause a less strong development of tolerance and withdrawal syndrome. Bretazenil differs from traditional 1,4-benzodiazepines by being a partial agonist and because it binds to α1, α2, α3, α4, α5 and α6 subunit containing GABAA receptor benzodiazepine receptor complexes. 1,4-benzodiazepines bind only to α1, α2, α3 and α5GABAA benzodiazepine receptor complexes.
Pagoclone is an anxiolytic agent from the cyclopyrrolone family, related to better-known drugs such as the sleeping medication zopiclone. It was synthesized by a French team working for Rhone-Poulenc & Rorer S.A. Pagoclone belongs to the class of nonbenzodiazepines, which have similar effects to the older benzodiazepine group, but with quite different chemical structures. It was never commercialised.
Gaboxadol, also known as 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo(5,4-c)pyridin-3-ol (THIP), is a conformationally constrained derivative of the alkaloid muscimol that was first synthesized in 1977 by the Danish chemist Poul Krogsgaard-Larsen. In the early 1980s gaboxadol was the subject of a series of pilot studies that tested its efficacy as an analgesic and anxiolytic, as well as a treatment for tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and spasticity. It was not until 1996 that researchers attempted to harness gaboxadol's frequently reported sedative "adverse effect" for the treatment of insomnia, resulting in a series of clinical trials sponsored by Lundbeck and Merck. In March, 2007, Merck and Lundbeck cancelled work on the drug, citing safety concerns and the failure of an efficacy trial. It acts on the GABA system, but in a different way from benzodiazepines, Z-Drugs, and barbiturates. Lundbeck states that gaboxadol also increases deep sleep. Unlike benzodiazepines, gaboxadol does not demonstrate reinforcement in mice or baboons despite activation of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area.
QH-II-66 (QH-ii-066) is a sedative drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. It produces some of the same effects as other benzodiazepines, but is much more selective than most other drugs of this class and so produces somewhat less sedation and ataxia than other related drugs such as diazepam and triazolam, although it still retains anticonvulsant effects.
L-838,417 is an anxiolytic drug used in scientific research. It has similar effects to benzodiazepine drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic. The compound was developed by Merck, Sharp and Dohme.
SL651498 is an anxiolytic and anticonvulsant drug used in scientific research, with a chemical structure most closely related to β-carboline derivatives such as abecarnil and gedocarnil. It has similar effects to benzodiazepine drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic.
CL-218,872 is a sedative and hypnotic drug used in scientific research. It has similar effects to sedative-hypnotic benzodiazepine drugs such as triazolam, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic.
SX-3228 is a sedative and hypnotic drug used in scientific research. It has similar effects to sedative-hypnotic benzodiazepine drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic.
U-89843A (PNU-89843) is a sedative drug which acts as an agonist at GABAA receptors, specifically acting as a positive allosteric modulator selective for the α1, α3 and α6 subtypes. It has sedative effects in animals but without causing ataxia, and also acts as an antioxidant and may have neuroprotective effects. It was developed by a team at Upjohn in the 1990s.
ELB-139 (LS-191,811) is an anxiolytic drug with a novel chemical structure, which is used in scientific research. It has similar effects to benzodiazepine drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic.
NS-2664 (LS-193,048) is an anxiolytic drug with a novel chemical structure, developed by the small pharmaceutical company NeuroSearch. It has similar effects to benzodiazepine drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic. NS-2664 is a potent but non-selective partial agonist at GABAA receptors, although with little efficacy at the α1 subtype and more at α2 and α3. It has potent anticonvulsant effects in animal studies, but a relatively short duration of action, and produces little sedative effects or physical dependence.
NS-2710 (LS-193,970) is an anxiolytic drug with a novel chemical structure, developed by the small pharmaceutical company NeuroSearch. It has similar effects to benzodiazepine drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic. NS-2710 is a potent but non-selective partial agonist at GABAA receptors, although with little efficacy at the α1 subtype and more at α2 and α3. It has anxiolytic effects comparable to chlordiazepoxide, and while it is a less potent anticonvulsant than the related drug NS-2664, it has a much longer duration of action, and similarly to other α2/α3-preferring partial agonists produces little sedative effects or physical dependence.
TPA-023 (MK-0777) is an anxiolytic drug with a novel chemical structure, which is used in scientific research. It has similar effects to benzodiazepine drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic. It is a mixed, subtype-selective ligand of the benzodiazepine site of α1, α2, α3, and α5-containing GABAA receptors, where it acts as a partial agonist at benzodiazepine sites of the α2 and α3-containing subtypes, but as a silent antagonist at α1 and α5-containing subtypes. It has primarily anxiolytic and anticonvulsant effects in animal tests, but with no sedative effects even at 50 times the effective anxiolytic dose.
L-655,708 (FG-8094) is a nootropic drug invented in 1996 by a team working for Merck, Sharp and Dohme, that was the first compound developed which acts as a subtype-selective inverse agonist at the α5 subtype of the benzodiazepine binding site on the GABAA receptor. It acts as an inverse agonist at the α1, α2, α3 and α5 subtypes, but with much higher affinity for α5, and unlike newer α5 inverse agonists such as α5IA, L-655,708 exerts its subtype selectivity purely via higher binding affinity for this receptor subtype, with its efficacy as an inverse agonist being around the same at all the subtypes it binds to.
PWZ-029 is a benzodiazepine derivative drug with nootropic effects developed by WiSys, It acts as a subtype-selective, mixed agonist-inverse agonist at the benzodiazepine binding site on the GABAA receptor, acting as a partial inverse agonist at the α5 subtype and a weak partial agonist at the α3 subtype. This gives it a mixed pharmacological profile, producing at low doses memory-enhancing effects but with no convulsant or anxiogenic effects or muscle weakness, although at higher doses it produces some sedative effects.
In pharmacology, GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators, also known as GABAkines or GABAA receptor potentiators, are positive allosteric modulator (PAM) molecules that increase the activity of the GABAA receptor protein in the vertebrate central nervous system.
Bromazolam (XLI-268) is a triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) which was first synthesised in 1976, but was never marketed. It has subsequently been sold as a designer drug, first being definitively identified by the EMCDDA in Sweden in 2016. It is the bromo instead of chloro analogue of alprazolam and has similar sedative and anxiolytic effects to it and other benzodiazepines. Bromazolam is a non subtype selective agonist at the benzodiazepine site of GABAA receptors, with a binding affinity of 2.81 nM at the α1 subtype, 0.69 nM at α2 and 0.62 nM at α5. The "common" dosage range for users of bromazolam was reported to be 1–2 mg, suggesting its potency is similar to alprazolam.
Desmethylzopiclone, also known as SEP-174559, is an active metabolite of the sedative-hypnotic drug zopiclone.
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