• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2001.09a
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• pp.90-90
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• 2001

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.92-99
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• 2016

Purpose: The use of flumazenil administration in the emergency department is still controversial because of concerns about adverse effects. The present study was conducted to re-evaluate the risk-benefit ratio associated with flumazenil administration to patients suspected of having acute hypnotics and sedatives poisoning in the emergency department. Methods: A retrospective chart review study was conducted for patients whose final diagnoses were "poisoning" and "benzodiazepine" or "sedatives-hypnotics" from Mar. 2006 to Feb. 2015. The basal characteristics of the patients, including past medical history, ingredients and dose of ingested drug and co-ingested drugs were investigated. For patients administered flumazenil, responsiveness and time from admission to flumazenil administration were investigated with supplement. All collected data were analyzed in aspect terms of risk/benefit. Results: A total of 678 patients were included in our study. Benzodiazepine was the most common sedative/hypnotic drug prescribed, and the frequency of prescription continuously increased. The proportion of TCA as co-ingestion decreased from 13.1% to 3.9% in patients with acute sedative/hypnotic poisoning. Flumazenil was administered to 55 patients (8.1%), of which 29 patients (52.7%) were applied to contraindications. Fifty-three patients (96.4%) showed positive responsiveness, including partial responsiveness after flumazenil administration. No severe adverse events were identified. Conclusion: Based on the current trends in prescription patterns for sedative/hypnotic drugs, increased use of non-TCA antidepressants, and responsiveness to administration of flumazenil, benefit seemed weighted more in this study, although the observed benefits were based on limited results. Further prospective multicenter studies will be needed to optimize benefit-risk ratio.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.537-542
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• 1997

Chloral hydrate is one of the most widely used sedative agents to control the difficult-to-treat young age group in the dental clinic. The normal onset time of oral Chloral hydrate is 30-45 minute with some variations. We are often frustrated see the patient still awake and cry with agitation even after far more than the normal onset time. In such a case, the patient has to be rescheduled for another sedation visit with different agents and/or routes which greatly disappoints the guardians. This case report presents a sedative regimen that can possibly help the clinician complete scheduled treatment without postponement. We have tried additional administration of Midazolam intranasally to 22 patients of those who failed to respond properly to the initial dose(50-75mg/kg) of oral Chloral hydrate. The average age and weight of the patients was 34.2 months(22-61 mos.) and 15.2 kg(10-17 kg) respectively. Half of the regular dose of Midazolam(0.1mg/kg) was administered intranasally. using needless syringe in 42 cases without notable resistance of the patient. The onset was very rapid in most cases and colud proceed the treatment under the constant monitoring by Pulse oximeter. All the planned procedures could be completed in 93.2 % (69.4% of 'Good' plus 23.8% of 'Fair' rating)with only 6.8 %('Poor' rating) of failure rate. Evidence of adverse effect was not detected or reported during and/or after the procedures.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.205-226
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• 1997

Sanpoongdan(SPD) has been known effective on infantile convulsive disorders in clinical field of oriental medicine. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-convulsive, sedation and analgesic effects of SPD in mouse. The anticonvulsive effect was evaluated In mice treated with pentylenetetrazol, stychnine, and picrotoxin. For the sedative effect, observations were made on the sleeping time induced by thiopental sodium and pentobarbital sodium following oral administration of SPD. Furthermore, reduction of spontaneous movements and ataxia using rota rod method were evaluated. Analgesic effects on the writhing syndrome induced by acetic acid and on hindlimb pain induced by pressure were also observed. The findings were as follows : 1. The solid extracts of SPD revealed no effect on convulsions induced by pentylenetetrazol, strychnine, and picrotoxin. 2. Thiopental sodium-induced sleeping time was prolonged by the administration of the solid extracts of SPD, but this result was devoid of statistical significance. 3. The oral administration of SPD enhanced the sleeping induced by pentobarbital sodium. 4. Spontaneous movements were significantly depressed following the oral administration of the solid extracts of SPD. 5. Ataxia was not shown in rota rod method following the oral administration of the solid extracts of SPD. 6. The solid extracts of SPD showed positive analgesic effects on the acetic acid-induced writhing syndrome. 7. The solid extracts of SPD raised the threshold of the hindlimb pressure pain, but the result was not statistically significant. From the results, it can be concluded that SPD has sedative and analgesic effects.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.113-122
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• 1986

In order to investigate the pharmacological activities of the combined preparation of crude drugs, Chunghyulgangki-Tang was studied. Chunghyulgangki-Tang has been widely used to cerebral apoploxy, hypertension and arteriosclerosis, etc. In this study, water extract of Chunghyulgangki-Tang was conducted in attempt to investigate for analgesic, sedative, antipyretic, isolated ileum and heart, blood vessels and blood pressure action in mice, frogs, rats, guinea-pigs and rabbits. The following results were obtained; Analgesic action by the acetic acid stimulating method in mice was recognized. Sedative activities by the wheel cage method and rotor rod method in mice were shown. Prolonged action against the hypnotic duration induced by thiopental-Na was significantly noted in mice. The effect of antipyretic in endotoxin febrile rats was significantly recognized. Spontaneous motility of the isolated ilem of mice was suppressed and contractions of the isolated ileum of mice and guinea-pigs induced by acetylcholine chloride, barium chloride and histamine were remarkably inhibited. Acceleration of isolated heart motility was shown in frogs. Vaso-dilating and hypotensive actions were recognized in rabbits. According to the above results, effects based on the oriental medicinal references were approximate to the actural experimental results.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.195-211
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• 2002

Gagamguibitang, a composite Korean medicinal drug prescribed by us, was evaluated for its sedative effects by measurements of potentiation on pentobarbital-induced sleeping time, anticonvulsive activities in animal model, inhibitory effect on GABA transaminase activity, and antioxidative activities in vitro- and/or in vivo assay. The results were summerized as follows : 1. Gagamguibitang showed about 2-fold prolongation of pentobarbital-induced sleeping time compared to the control group after administration(p.o) with 2.0g/kg of mice body weight. 2. Gagamguibitang strongly lengthened onset time of pentylenetetrazole-induced convulsion, shortened the duration of convulsion and diminished the lethality after treatment(p.o) with 1.0g/kg of mice body weight. 3. Gagamguibitang inhibited dose-dependently the brain GABA transaminase activity in vitro compared to the control group and in vivo compared to the pentylenetetrazole-treated group. 4. Gagamguibitang inhibited effectively brain lipid peroxidation by 45.8% at a dose of l0mg/ml in vitro and by 47.5% after oral treatment with 0.5g/kg of mice body weight in vivo assay. 5. Gagamguibitang exhibited a potent scavenging activity on DPPH radical in a dose-dependent manner with ca. 92% activity at l0mg/ml. As a result, Gagamguibitang can be useful for the effective sedative drug in clinical application.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.479-485
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• 2015

This study was performed to investigate the sedative-hypnotic activity of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-enriched fermented marine organisms (FMO), including sea tangle (FST) and oyster (FO) by Lactobacillus brevis BJ20 (L. brevis BJ20). FST and FO were tested for their binding activity of the $GABA_A$-benzodiazepine and 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptors, which are well-known molecular targets for sleep aids. We also measured the sleep latency and sleep duration during pentobarbital-induced sleep in mice after oral administration of FST and FO. In $GABA_A$ and 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptor binding assays, FST displayed an effective concentration-dependent binding affinity to $GABA_A$ receptor, similar to the binding affinity to 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptor. FO exhibited higher affinity to 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptor, compared with the $GABA_A$ receptor. The oral administration of FST and FO produced a dose-dependent decrease in sleep latency and increase in sleep duration in pentobarbital-induced hypnosis. The data demonstrate that FST and FO possess sedativehypnotic activity possibly by modulating $GABA_A$ and 5-$HT_{2C}$ receptors. We propose that FST and FO might be effective agents for treatment of insomnia.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.201-208
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• 2017

Background: Panax vietnamensis Ha et Grushv. or Vietnamese ginseng (VG) is a recently discovered ginseng species. Studies on its chemical constituents have shown that VG is remarkably rich in ginseng saponins, particularly ocotillol saponins. However, the psychopharmacological effects of VG have not been characterized. Thus, in the present study we screened the psychopharmacological activities of VG in mice. Methods: VG extract (VGE) was orally administered to mice at various dosages to evaluate its psychomotor (open-field and rota-rod tests), sedative-hypnotic (pentobarbital-induced sleeping test), anti-stress (cold swimming test), anxiolytic (elevated plus-maze test), and cognitive (Y-maze and passive-avoidance tests) effects. Results: VGE treatment increased the spontaneous locomotor activity, enhanced the endurance to stress, reduced the anxiety-like behavior, and ameliorated the scopolamine-induced memory impairments in mice. In addition, VGE treatment did not alter the motor balance and coordination of mice and did not potentiate pentobarbital-induced sleep, indicating that VGE has no sedative-hypnotic effects. The effects of VGE were comparable to those of the Korean Red Ginseng extract. Conclusion: VG, like other ginseng products, has significant and potentially useful psychopharmacological effects. This includes, but is not limited to, psychomotor stimulation, anxiolytic, antistress, and memory enhancing effects.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.230-234
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• 2015

This paper includes a review of 555 drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases analyzed at the National Forensic Service (NFS), South Korea, between 2006 and 2012. The results of toxicological analyses of blood and urine samples were also reported, and furthermore the results were interpreted with respect to the number of drugs detected. The number of DFSA cases was highest during warmer summer months and the mean age of the victims was 25 years, with 48% being between 20 and 29 years. Accommodations or entertainment places were the most frequent place of the sexual assault (57%); and the assailant was a stranger in 72% of the DFSA cases. Drugs were identified in the blood or urine samples in 145 cases (26%) and sedative-hypnotics, such as benzodiazepines and zolpidem, were the most commonly detected, along with sedative antihistamines such as doxylamine and diphenhydramine. The frequent presence of sedative drugs in biological samples tends to implicate their use in chemical submission. However, interpreting the analytical results in terms of voluntary vs. surreptitious administration of drugs requires further detailed investigation and knowledge of the victim's health status and medication used at the time of event.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.249-254
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• 2014

Background: Delirium after cardiac surgery is associated with serious long-term negative outcomes and high costs. The aim of this study is to evaluate neurobehavioral, hemodynamic, and sedative characteristics of dexmedetomidine, compared with the current postoperative sedative protocol (remifentanil) in patients undergoing open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Methods: One hundred and forty two eligible patients who underwent cardiac surgery on CPB between April 2012 and March 2013 were randomly divided into two groups. Patients received either dexmedetomidine (range, 0.2 to $0.8\;{\mu}g/kg/hr$; n=67) or remifentanil (range, 1,000 to $2,500\;{\mu}g/hr$, n=75). The primary end point was the prevalence of delirium estimated daily via the confusion assessment method for intensive care. Results: When the delirium incidence was compared with the dexmedetomidine group (6 of 67 patients, 8.96%) and the remifentanil group (17 of 75 patients, 22.67%) it was found to be significantly less in the dexmedetomidine group (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in the extubation time, ICU stay, total hospital stay, and other postoperative complications including hemodynamic side effects. Conclusion: This preliminary study suggests that dexmedetomidine as a postoperative sedative agent is associated with significantly lower rates of delirium after cardiac surgery.