Some combination medications contain barbiturates, which are sedating drugs that are controlled by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration because of their potential for abuse and addiction. In her book, "The Encyclopedia of Drug Abuse,"...
Barbiturates refer to substances that depress the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). According to the University of Washington, barbiturates can lead to anxiety, low blood pressure and a reduced heart rate in low doses. In high...
Barbiturates such as phenobarbital are used to treat epilepsy. These medications are a type of depressant and act on the brain to inhibit the misfiring of the brain in epilepsy. Barbiturates are also a common drug of abuse. Women who abuse...
Barbiturate medications refer to depressant drugs used to promote drowsiness and relaxation. Unfortunately, this medication is highly addictive and can lead to irritability, memory loss, lack of interpersonal skills and lack of alertness if taken...
Barbiturates are a powerful class of drugs categorized as non-selective central nervous system depressants. Barbiturates were first developed in the early 1900s and became popular in the 1950s and 1960s for treating anxiety and insomnia. They were...
Barbiturates are central nervous system depressants that have side effects if taken incorrectly. According to MayoClinic.com, barbiturates ease tension and cause drowsiness. It is true that barbiturate use may lead to weight loss. One side effect...
Depressant drugs are prescribed to relieve tension, anxiety and irritability. In addition, depressant drugs can treat insomnia. Orally taken, depressant drugs have a high potential for abuse, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human...
Barbiturates or barbituates are in the same classification as benzodiazepines (Valium, Librium and more) and act as depressants on the central nervous system, which basically means that barbiturates decrease excitability in the brain to produce a...
Sedative medications are neurological depressants. As depressants of the neurological system have anxiolytic, or anti-anxiety, effects, many sedatives are used successfully as anti-anxiety drugs. Sedatives also have analgesic, or pain-relieving,...
Antihistamines are drugs that block the effects of histamine, which is a substance released by immune cells throughout the body as part of the allergic response. People use these drugs to relieve or prevent the symptoms associated with allergies...
The brain's main memory site is the hippocampus. The hippocampus, part of the brain's limbic system, is located in the temporal lobe on the side of the brain. This brain region plays a crucial role in storing information that needs to be kept...
Addiction is a physical and psychological dependence on certain substances or prescription medication. An individual who struggles with addiction has a difficult time controlling the amount of the substance he uses even if the addiction effects...
The worst types of drugs are those that cause the most harm. Research conducted by D. Nutt and published in Lancet in 2007, classified drugs by three factors that together determine harm, namely physical harm to the user caused by the drug,...
Depressants describe a class of pharmaceutical compounds that work by decreasing electrical activity in the central nervous system (CNS). Some depressants work by altering the chemistry of the brain to increase the amounts of chemicals that...
The main purpose of oral contraceptives is to prevent pregnancy. Chemical equivalents of the female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, work to suppress ovulation, thicken cervical mucus to create a hostile environment for sperm and thin the...
Home drug test kits have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1997. These kits test for a variety of both prescription and street drugs, and all require a urine sample. While some kits test for a single drug, others test...
Originally manufactured as anti-anxiety medications, depressants are often abused or used illegally, according to the Nemours Foundation. Depressants go by numerous street names, such as ludes, downers, jackets, goofballs and barbs. By decreasing...
Psychoactive, psychotropic or mind-altering drugs change behavior by acting on the central nervous system, or CNS, which includes the brain and spinal cord. Psychopharmacology is the study of how psychoactive drugs affect the brain and behavior....
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.2 million people over the age of 12 in the United States abused some form of psychotherapeutic prescription drug the month before the survey in 2007. The non-medical users of the...
Depressants work by decreasing activity in the central nervous system, which produces a calming effect. These prescription medications work by increasing the amount of gamma-aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter. While people abuse...
Ambien is a sedative prescribed for insomnia that can induce relaxation and sleep. Alcohol, a barbiturate also causes sedation, drowsiness and dizziness. However, when alcohol combines with the hypnotic Ambien, the interaction can cause severe...
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), prescription medications such as central nervous system depressants are very effective for reducing anxiety and helping to fight insomnia. While most patients use their medications...
Harmful drugs in the United Kingdom are categorized according to the UK legislation based on the Misuse of Drug Act of 1971. Drugs are placed into three categories: Class A, B or C, according to the homeoffice.gov.uk website, and are categorized...
Narcotics and depressants are two types of drugs that have legitimate medical uses but are also highly abusive. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) states that some abusers start using these medications for pain or anxiety but increase...
Anxiety disorders, which cause patients to have severe anxiety symptoms that interfere with their lives, affect 40 million adults in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Patients with an anxiety disorder, such...
Getting a good night's sleep is important to life quality and public safety. According to a 2010 review in the "Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine," sleep disturbances are associated with poor health. A 2010 survey in the same publication showed...
Fioricet is a brand name for a compounded oral medication containing 50 milligrams of butalbital, a barbiturate, 325 milligrams of acetaminophen and 40 milligrams of caffeine. It is prescribed for the relief of symptoms due to tension or muscle...
The drug with the brand name of Fioricet in the United States is a combination of the barbiturate butalbital and the analgesic acetaminophen. It is used in the treatment of tension headaches because it combines with the analgesic to fight pain and...
Beta blockers are anti-hypertensive drugs used in the treatment of high blood pressure, migraine, angina, cardiac arrhythmias, acute myocardial infarctions and pheochromocytomas. According to Medex, beta blockers are effective treatments for...