Canadian Medical Guide > Chemicals and Drugs > Central Nervous System Agents Terms and Definitions




Central Nervous System Agents

Medical Definition: A class of drugs producing both physiological and psychological effects through a variety of mechanisms. They can be divided into "specific" agents, e.g., affecting an identifiable molecular mechanism unique to target cells bearing receptors for that agent, and "nonspecific" agents, those producing effects on different target cells and acting by diverse molecular mechanisms. Those with nonspecific mechanisms are generally further classed according to whether they produce behavioral depression or stimulation. Those with specific mechanisms are classed by locus of action or specific therapeutic use. (From Gilman AG, et al., Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th ed, p252)
Guide Notes: GEN or unspecified; prefer specific groups or specific drugs; consider also CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM /drug eff & BRAIN /drug eff; DF: CNS AGENTS
Central Nervous System Agents Categories.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Adjuvants, Anesthesia - Agents that are administered in association with anesthetics to increase effectiveness, improve delivery, or decrease required dosage.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Alcohol Deterrents - Substances interfering with the metabolism of ethyl alcohol, causing unpleasant side effects thought to discourage the drinking of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol deterrents are used in the treatment of alcoholism.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Analgesics - Compounds capable of relieving pain without the loss of consciousness or without producing anesthesia.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Anesthetics - Agents that are capable of inducing a total or partial loss of sensation, especially tactile sensation and pain. They may act to induce general anesthesia, in which an unconscious state is achieved, or may act locally to induce numbness or lack of sensation at a targeted site.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Anti-Dyskinesia Agents - Drugs used in the treatment of movement disorders. Most of these act centrally on dopaminergic or cholinergic systems. Among the most important clinically are those used for the treatment of Parkinson disease (ANTIPARKINSON AGENTS) and those for the tardive dyskinesias.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Anti-Obesity Agents - Agents that increase energy expenditure and weight loss by neural and chemical regulation. Beta-adrenergic agents and serotoninergic drugs have been experimentally used in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) to treat obesity.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Anticonvulsants - Drugs used to prevent seizures or reduce their severity.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Antiemetics - Drugs used to prevent nausea or vomiting. Antiemetics act by a wide range of mechanisms. Some act on the medullary contol centers (the vomiting center and the chemoreceptive trigger zone) while others affect the peripheral receptors.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Antitussive Agents - Agents that suppress cough. They act centrally on the medullary cough center. EXPECTORANTS, also used in the treatment of cough, act locally.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Central Nervous System Depressants - A very loosely defined group of drugs that tend to reduce the activity of the central nervous system. The major groups included here are ethyl alcohol, anesthetics, hypnotics and sedatives, narcotics, and tranquilizing agents (antipsychotics and antianxiety agents).
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Central Nervous System Stimulants - A loosely defined group of drugs that tend to increase behavioral alertness, agitation, or excitation. They work by a variety of mechanisms, but usually not by direct excitation of neurons. The many drugs that have such actions as side effects to their main therapeutic use are not included here.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Emetics - Agents that cause vomiting. They may act directly on the gastrointestinal tract, bringing about emesis through local irritant effects, or indirectly, through their effects on the chemoreceptor trigger zone in the postremal area near the medulla.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Hallucinogens - Drugs capable of inducing illusions, hallucinations, delusions, paranoid ideations, and other alterations of mood and thinking. Despite the name, the feature that distinguishes these agents from other classes of drugs is their capacity to induce states of altered perception, thought, and feeling that are not experienced otherwise.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Muscle Relaxants, Central - A heterogeneous group of drugs used to produce muscle relaxation, excepting the neuromuscular blocking agents. They have their primary clinical and therapeutic uses in the treatment of muscle spasm and immobility associated with strains, sprains, and injuries of the back and, to a lesser degree, injuries to the neck. They have been used also for the treatment of a variety of clinical conditions that have in common only the presence of skeletal muscle hyperactivity, for example, the muscle spasms that can occur in multiple sclerosis. (From Smith and Reynard, Texbook of Pharmacology, 1991, p358)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Narcotic Antagonists - Agents inhibiting the effect of narcotics on the central nervous system.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Neuroprotective Agents - Drugs intended to prevent damage to the brain or spinal cord from ischemia, stroke, convulsions, or trauma. Some must be administered before the event, but others may be effective for some time after. They act by a variety of mechanisms, but often directly or indirectly minimize the damage produced by endogenous excitatory amino acids.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Nootropic Agents - Drugs used to specifically facilitate learning or memory, particularly to prevent the cognitive deficits associated with dementias. These drugs act by a variety of mechanisms. While no potent nootropic drugs have yet been accepted for general use, several are being actively investigated.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Psychotropic Drugs - A loosely defined grouping of drugs that have effects on psychological function. Here the psychotropic agents include the antidepressive agents, hallucinogens, and tranquilizing agents (including the antipsychotics and anti-anxiety agents).

Central Nervous System Agents Medical Definitions and Terms

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