How does pentobarbital act? Understand how this potent barbiturate affects the body
Pentobarbital belongs to a drug family known as barbiturates, and it is well known under the brand name Nembutal. These drugs depress the central nervous system, slowing down brain activity. Contact us for more information
Pentobarbital once had the wide field of medical uses as a sedative, anesthetic, and anticonvulsant. But safety concerns and the fact that there are now safer alternatives to it have tightened control over its use.
We should therefore acknowledge this reality: Nembutal has not really disappeared from our lives but rather has gotten into something much worse than using direct injection pipes as drinking straws–the living and breathing bodies of young people whose parents trust them completely with drugs simply because they are in college.
The Science of Pentobarbital
To understand how pentobarbital works, it is necessary to look at what happens in the brain. The human brain communicates by means of electrical signals between nerve cells, with those signals controlled by chemicals known as neurotransmitters. One of the most important inhibitory neurotransmitters is GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid).
To increase the amount of GABA in the human brain, pentobarbital binds to GABA-A receptors. The effect of this action is to raise the flow of chloride ions into nerve cells, making them less likely to conduct electrical signals. As a result, brain activity slows down — one feels relaxed and sleepy; eventually it is daytime before dawn breaks on this still-calm night.
Pentobarbital Medical Uses
Pentobarbital is used in only the strictly controlled circumstances of modern medicine, such as:
Short-term treatment of severe insomnia
Management of seizures occurring suddenly (as an emergency measure)
Induction of coma in patients with traumatic brain injuries (to reduce intracranial pressure)
Veterinary anaesthesia and euthanasia purposes
Pentobarbital, apt to cause patient dependence and due to its high potency, has now been replaced by benzodiazepines as the medication of choice for most conditions in human patients.
How does pentobarbital act?
Pentobarbital may lead to dizziness, disorientation, depressed breathing, or impaired balance and co-ordination. An overdose could cause coma or death–especially if it was taken together with alcohol or other sedative drugs.
That is why it is a controlled substance, and only a doctor should decide when to give it.
