Hexobarbital Stats & Data
Pharmacology
DrugBankDescription
A barbiturate that is effective as a hypnotic and sedative.
Mechanism of Action
Hexobarbital binds at a distinct binding site associated with a Cl- ionopore at the GABA-A receptor, increasing the duration of time for which the Cl- ionopore is open. The post-synaptic inhibitory effect of GABA in the thalamus is, therefore, prolonged.
Pharmacodynamics
Hexobarbital is a barbiturate derivative having hypnotic and sedative effects. It was subsequently used in the 1940s and 1950s as an anesthetic for surgery. Furthermore, the agent also demonstrates a fairly quick onset of action that also possesses a short duration of action. However it can be difficult to control the depth of anesthesia with hexobarbital which makes it quite dangerous, and it has now been replaced by safer drugs in human medicine, usually thiopental would be the barbiturate of choice for this application these days.
Toxicity
Symptoms of an overdose typically include sluggishness, incoordination, difficulty in thinking, slowness of speech, faulty judgment, drowsiness or coma, shallow breathing, staggering, and in severe cases coma and death.
Indication
For the induction of anesthesia prior to the use of other general anesthetic agents and for induction of anesthesia for short surgical, diagnostic, or therapeutic procedures associated with minimal painful stimuli.