Psychoanaleptics

An analeptic, in medicine, is a central nervous system stimulant. The term analeptic typically refers to respiratory analeptics (for example, doxapram). Analeptics are central nervous system stimulants that include a wide variety of medications used to treat depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and respiratory depression. Analeptics can also be used as convulsants, with low doses causing patients to experience heightened awareness, restlessness and rapid breathing. The primary medical use of these drugs is as an anesthetic recovery tool or to treat emergency respiratory depression. Other drugs of this category are prethcamide, pentylenetetrazole, and nikethamide. Nikethamide is now withdrawn due to risk of convulsions. Analeptics have recently been used to better understand the treatment of a barbiturate overdose. Through the use of agents researchers were able to treat obtundation and respiratory depression.

Analeptics have been used throughout history for two main purposes. One purpose is to help patients recover from anesthesia more efficiently. Another purpose is the management of respiratory distress and apnea, particularly in infants.

Analeptics can be used to increase the speed of recovery from propofol, remifentanil, and sevoflurane. In clinical settings, analeptics such as Doxapram have been used to help patients recover from anesthesia better, as well as removing some of the potential negative side effects of potent anesthetics.

The three most prevalent clinical analeptic uses of caffeine are in the treatment of asthma, apnea of prematurity, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia in newborn infants. Caffeine is a weak bronchodilator, which explains the relief of the effects of asthma. There is preliminary research that indicates that caffeine reduces the incidence of cerebral palsy and cognitive delay, but additional research is needed here. Apnea of prematurity is officially described as a cessation of breathing for more than 15–20 seconds, usually accompanied by bradycardia and hypoxia. This cessation of breathing is due to the underdevelopment of the body's respiratory control center, the medulla oblongata in premature infants.

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