Barbiturates
Belonging to a class of mood-altering drugs, barbiturates induce relaxation and sleep. By manipulating the central nervous system, barbiturates can effect degrees of behavioral depression from mild sedation to coma, and, if used improperly, can cause death. Barbiturates depress the activity of nerves, muscles, heart tissue, and the brain. They can impair a person's ability to engage in rational thought, thus diminishing their reasoning capacity.
The use of depressants likely began with alcohol consumption. Alcohol was once used as a remedy or anesthetic for practically all diseases and problems; in the Middle Ages, alcohol was viewed as a life-giving elixir. Many barbiturates have been prescribed to treat problems for which alcohol was once administered.
The first barbituric acid was prepared in 1864 by Adolf von Baeyer, but it was not until 1903 that his student, Emil Fischer, introduced the first barbiturate derivative for use as a sedative. Fischer produced 5.5-diethylbarbituric acid, a hypnotic and sedative known by the trade names Barbital, Veronal, and Dorminal. By 1912, a phenylethyl derivative was developed and commercially introduced as Phenobarbital and Luminal. Since then, more than 2500 barbiturates have been synthesized, of which more than 50 have been marketed.
Doctors often prescribe barbiturates to help patients relax during times of great stress or to help patients suffering from any number of anxiety disorders; however, as barbiturates are highly addictive and may trigger severe depression, they are usually dispensed on a short-term basis and their use is closely monitored. Severe withdrawal effects follow prolonged periods of barbiturate-induced depression. Since barbiturate-induced sleep is characterized by slow brain wave activity, it prevents a person from entering the deepest and most restful stage of sleep, known as the REM (rapid-eye-movement) stage. Because of REM sleep deprivation, some doctors believe individuals using barbiturates will suffer marked drowsiness and hangover-like symptoms after they stop taking the drug. Furthermore, because dreaming takes place during REM sleep, individuals may experience a period of intense dreaming shortly after discontinuing their use of the drug.
Some barbiturates are used to treat symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, while others are commonly used as minor tranquilizers. For example, Valium is often prescribed to calm people and help them sleep while they cope with a traumatic event. The use of barbiturates must be carefully considered because excessive use of such sedatives may hinder the development of a person's coping skills and result in severe depression.
People are sternly warned not to drink alcohol or take other central nervous system depressants (medications that slow down the nervous system, like antihistamines) while taking barbiturates because mixing these substances can prove fatal. Alcohol itself is a depressant, therefore combining it with a barbiturate can depress the nervous system to such an extent that it ceases functioning altogether. Whatever depressant effects substances possess separately are intensified when they are combined. A person's senses may not function properly, he or she may become extremely confused about time and place, and there is frequently a loss of short-term memory. These effects are compounded by a potential for extreme mood swings. A person may appear sullen and moody one moment and exhibit intense anger the next.
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