CNS Pharmacology and Neurological Disorders

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering central nervous system pharmacology, sedative-hypnotics, anesthetics, anticonvulsants, neurodegenerative disorders, and psychiatric medications.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A disorder characterized by inattentiveness, inability to concentrate, restlessness, hyperactivity, inability to complete tasks, and impulsivity, involving serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Narcolepsy

A neurological disorder characterized by falling asleep during normal waking activities, such as driving or talking with someone.

Amphetamines

CNS stimulants with a half-life of 9 to 15 hours that stimulate the release of norepinephrine and dopamine from the brain and sympathetic nervous system and block their reuptake.

Modafinil

An amphetamine-like drug with an unestablished mechanism of action that increases wakefulness in clients with sleep disorders such as narcolepsy.

Methylphenidate

An amphetamine-like CNS stimulant that is well absorbed from the GI mucosa, usually administered to children twice daily before breakfast and lunch, and is generally more effective for ADHD with lower abuse potential than amphetamines.

Anorexiants

CNS stimulants that produce a stimulant effect on the hypothalamic and limbic regions of the brain to suppress appetite.

Analeptics

CNS stimulants whose primary use is to stimulate respiration, with xanthines (methylxanthines) as a subgroup.

Insomnia

The inability to fall asleep or remain asleep, occurring more frequently in women and increasing in incidence with age.

Sedative-Hypnotics

Drugs commonly ordered to treat sleep disorders that cause varying degrees of central nervous system functional depression depending on the drug and dose.

Ramelteon

A melatonin agonist that selectively targets melatonin receptors to regulate circadian rhythms in insomnia, acts as the only major sedative-hypnotic approved for long-term use, and does not decrease REM sleep.

Barbiturates

Sedative-hypnotic drugs restricted to short-term use (2 weeks or less) due to numerous side effects including tolerance, categorized as long-acting, intermediate-acting, or short-acting.

Flumazenil

A benzodiazepine antagonist used as an antidote to treat benzodiazepine overdose.

Triazolam

A short-acting benzodiazepine hypnotic with a half-life of 2 to 5 hours that produces no active metabolites and carries an increased risk of anterograde amnesia or memory impairment.

Zolpidem Tartrate

A CSS IV nonbenzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic used for short-term treatment (less than 10 days) of insomnia, with a duration of 6 to 8 hours and a half-life of 1.4 to 8.4 hours.

Balanced Anesthesia

A combination of drugs frequently used in general anesthesia to depress the CNS, alleviate pain, and cause loss of consciousness.

Local Anesthetics

Medications characterized by the suffix "-caine" that block pain at the administration site by preventing conduction of nerve impulses.

Four Stages of Anesthesia

The sequential phases of general anesthesia: 1. Analgesia, 2. Excitement or Delirium, 3. Surgical, and 4. Medullary Paralysis.

Hydantoins (Phenytoin)

Anticonvulsant drugs used for tonic-clonic seizures, partial seizures, and status epilepticus that require therapeutic serum level monitoring within a narrow range of $10\text{--}20\,\mu g/mL$.

Ethosuximide

A succinimide anticonvulsant used to treat absence seizures by decreasing calcium influx through T-type calcium channels, maintaining a therapeutic range of $40\text{--}100\,\mu g/mL$.

Carbamazepine

An iminostilbene anticonvulsant used to control tonic-clonic and partial seizures with a therapeutic range of $4\text{--}12\,\mu g/mL$, which has a potentially toxic interaction when taken with grapefruit juice.

Valproate

An anticonvulsant prescribed for tonic-clonic, absence, and mixed seizures with a therapeutic serum range of $50\text{--}100\,\mu g/mL$ that carries a risk of hepatotoxicity.

Parkinson's Disease

A neurodegenerative disorder known as "shaking palsy" resulting from a loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra.

Carbidopa-Levodopa

A dopaminergic drug combination in a 1:10 ratio, where carbidopa inhibits dopa decarboxylase so smaller doses of levodopa are required to achieve therapeutic effect.

Selegiline

An MAO-B inhibitor that can delay the need for carbidopa-levodopa therapy by 1 year in newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease patients and requires avoidance of tyramine-rich foods.

Entacapone

A COMT inhibitor used in Parkinson's disease that does not affect liver function, can cause brownish-orange urine discoloration, and increases dosing flexibility when combined with carbidopa and levodopa.

Amantadine

A dopamine receptor antagonist that acts on DA receptors to produce improvement in Parkinson's disease symptoms and drug-induced parkinsonism, though tolerance develops.

Pimavanserin

An atypical antipsychotic used specifically to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis.

Alzheimer's Disease

An irreversible neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a decline in cognitive abilities, daily living activities, and changes in behavior.

Rivastigmine

An acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that increases acetylcholine at cholinergic synapses to slow Alzheimer's disease progression and improve cognitive functions in mild to moderate cases.

Aducanumab

An IV-administered IgG1 monoclonal antibody directed against amyloid beta that reduces amyloid plaques in the brain for patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia.

Myasthenia Gravis

A chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease in which antibodies attack ACh receptors, leading to ineffective muscle contraction and weakness.

Pyridostigmine

An acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used to increase muscle strength in Myasthenia Gravis with an oral half-life of 3 hours and IV half-life of 1.5 hours, reversed by the antidote atropine.

Multiple Sclerosis

An autoimmune disorder that attacks the myelin sheath of nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord, causing plaques and motor, sensory, neurologic, cerebellar, or emotional dysfunction.

Glatiramer Acetate

An immunomodulator medication prescribed for the relapsing form of Multiple Sclerosis.

Typical Antipsychotics

First-generation antipsychotic agents (phenothiazines and non-phenothiazines) that treat positive symptoms of psychosis but can cause extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS).

Atypical Antipsychotics

Second-generation antipsychotic agents (e.g., clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone) that treat both positive and negative symptoms of psychosis without causing extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS).

Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs)

Antidepressant agents that block the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain, with a clinical response seen after 2 to 4 weeks of therapy.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

Antidepressants that selectively block serotonin reuptake into CNS nerve terminals without blocking dopamine, norepinephrine, cholinergic, or alpha1 receptors.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)

Antidepressants that inhibit MAO-A and MAO-B enzymes in the liver and brain, preventing the inactivation of norepinephrine, dopamine, epinephrine, and serotonin.

Lithium

A mood stabilizer used to treat bipolar affective disorder with a narrow therapeutic serum range of $0.8\text{--}1.2\,mEq/L$, where levels above $1.5\,mEq/L$ can cause toxicity.