Summary of Clinical Use

Historically used to treat insomnia, but now rarely used. There is no information regarding approval for clinical use of this drug on the US FDA website. Other national approval agencies may have granted marketing authorisation.

Mechanism Of Action and Pharmacodynamic Effects

Glutethimide is a positive modulator of the GABAA anion channel. The drug increases inhibitory GABAergic tone and causes neuro-inhibition of the cortical and limbic systems, observed clinically as a sedative-hypnotic effect. Due to the complex and varied nature of the precise subunit composition of GABAA receptors, and a paucity of affinity data with definitive molecular details, we have not tagged a primary target for this drug.