Display options
Cite
López-Muñoz F, Ucha-Udabe R, Alamo C. The history of barbiturates a century after their clinical introduction. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2005;1(4):329-43
López-Muñoz, F., Ucha-Udabe, R., & Alamo, C. (2005). The history of barbiturates a century after their clinical introduction. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 1(4), 329-43.
López-Muñoz, Francisco, et al. "The history of barbiturates a century after their clinical introduction." Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment vol. 1,4 (2005): 329-43.
López-Muñoz F, Ucha-Udabe R, Alamo C. The history of barbiturates a century after their clinical introduction. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2005 Dec;1(4):329-43. PMID: 18568113; PMCID: PMC2424120.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2005 Dec;1(4):329-43.

The history of barbiturates a century after their clinical introduction.

Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment

Francisco López-Muñoz, Ronaldo Ucha-Udabe, Cecilio Alamo

Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain. [email protected]

PMID: 18568113 PMCID: PMC2424120

Abstract

The present work offers an analysis of the historical development of the discovery and use of barbiturates in the field of psychiatry and neurology, a century after their clinical introduction. Beginning with the synthesis of malonylurea by von Baeyer in 1864, and up to the decline of barbiturate therapy in the 1960s, it describes the discovery of the sedative properties of barbital, by von Mering and Fischer (1903), the subsequent synthesis of phenobarbital by this same group (1911), and the gradual clinical incorporation of different barbiturates (butobarbital, amobarbital, secobarbital, pentobarbital, thiopental, etc). We describe the role played in therapy by barbiturates throughout their history: their traditional use as sedative and hypnotic agents, their use with schizophrenic patients in so-called "sleep cures" (Klaesi, Cloetta), the discovery of the antiepileptic properties of phenobarbital (Hauptmann) and their use in the treatment of epilepsy, and the introduction of thiobarbiturates in intravenous anesthesia (Lundy, Waters). We also analyze, from the historical perspective, the problems of safety (phenomena of dependence and death by overdose) which, accompanied by the introduction of a range of psychoactive drugs in the 1950s, brought an end to barbiturate use, except in specific applications, such as the induction of anesthesia and the treatment of certain types of epileptic crisis.

Keywords: anesthesia; barbiturates; epilepsy; history of medicine; sedative-hypnotic drugs; “sleep cures”

References

  1. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2001 May;25(4):709-27 - PubMed
  2. Br Med J. 1977 Apr 30;1(6069):1128-30 - PubMed
  3. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1956 Dec;93(3):544-6 - PubMed
  4. Neuropsychopharmacology. 1993 Jun;8(4):291-303 - PubMed
  5. J R Coll Physicians Lond. 1976 Jan;10(2):205-8 - PubMed
  6. J Neurosurg. 1988 Jul;69(1):15-23 - PubMed
  7. Hist Psychiatry. 1993 Mar;4(13):83-93 - PubMed
  8. Am J Psychiatry. 1994 Jun;151(6 Suppl):220-30 - PubMed
  9. Anaesthesia. 1982 Jul;37(7):726-34 - PubMed
  10. Mol Chem Neuropathol. 1992 Aug;17(1):21-30 - PubMed
  11. Lancet. 1952 Apr 12;1(6711):742-4 - PubMed
  12. Acta Neurol Scand. 1967;43(3):348-56 - PubMed
  13. Neurology. 2000;54(11 Suppl 4):S30-8 - PubMed
  14. Lancet. 1974 Jan 12;1(7846):57-8 - PubMed
  15. Am J Psychiatry. 1956 Jan;112(7):502-9 - PubMed
  16. J Hist Neurosci. 1992 Apr;1(2):111-8 - PubMed
  17. Contemp Rev. 1975;226(1309):70-5 - PubMed
  18. Neurosurgery. 1980 Dec;7(6):598-603 - PubMed
  19. Neurosurgery. 1984 Sep;15(3):427-44 - PubMed
  20. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1994 Sep;17(3):531-40 - PubMed
  21. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Jan;28(1):205-8 - PubMed
  22. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1953 Jun;8(2):230-6 - PubMed
  23. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1986;89(2):138-44 - PubMed
  24. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(2):CD000033 - PubMed
  25. J Psychoactive Drugs. 1983 Jan-Jun;15(1-2):9-13 - PubMed
  26. Neuropsychopharmacology. 1991 Sep;5(2):71-84 - PubMed
  27. Br Med J. 1900 Jan 20;1(2038):134-6 - PubMed
  28. J Neurosurg. 1979 Jan;50(1):26-30 - PubMed
  29. Br Med J. 1979 Aug 18;2(6187):429-30 - PubMed
  30. Anaesthesist. 1952 Dec;1(5):149-50 - PubMed
  31. J Clin Invest. 1941 Jan;20(1):63-80 - PubMed

Publication Types