The tranquilizer Sonuctane® contained the barbituric acid derivative vinbarbital (also known as butenemal), considered as a hypnotic agent. In contained also the hypnotic barbiturate secobarbital. The drug, fomulated as a tablet or suppository, was used mainly to treat insomnia. It could be used also for obstetric analgesia to reduce the possibility of excitement during the first stage of labor. But the main use was for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety states. Barbiturates are sedative medications that agonize the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor in the central nervous system (CNS). This well-known class of drugs includes phenobarbital used to treat epilepsy and alcohol withdrawal. Secobarbital has been used occasionally as a primary euthanasia agent where physician-assisted suicide has been legalized. ‘Assisted dying’ is practiced in some European countries and US states. Sonuctane is no longer used today, but secobarbital remains in use as a short-acting barbiturate, for the short-term management of initial or middle insomnia.
