Suppressed brain activity resulting in a decreased respiration and heart rate
Central nervous system depression (or CNS depression) is a nervous system disorder characterized by a severely impaired physiological state in which patients may exhibit decreased rate of breathing, decreased heart rate, and loss of consciousness; in extreme cases, CNS depression can possibly lead to coma or death.
Causes
Central nervous system depression is generally caused by the improper or excessive use of
, and certain sleep medications. These drugs, although useful for treating severe cases of depression that may manifest as CNS depression, can easily be misused. The medications above depress the functions of the spinal cord and brain, both vital components of the central nervous system. In cases of misuse due to addiction, accidents, or unregulated dosage increases, individuals can very easily slip into unconscious coma states because neural activity drops below safe levels.
Other causes of central nervous system depression are metabolic disturbances such as hypoglycemia.[2] Because the brain relies so heavily on glucose for normal functioning, a hypoglycemic state that severely deprives the brain of glucose would damage the brain's fuel sources. In most cases, specific neurobiological systems are set in place to produce defensive actions in response to such drops in glucose concentrations in attempts to raise concentrations back to normal functioning levels. However, in rare cases, if hypoglycemic episodes cause CNS depression that goes unchecked, brain death can be fatal.[3]
Comparison
In a study comparing the central nervous depression due to supra-therapeutic doses of
respiratory depression.
[4]Treatment
There are two
gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors. Similarly to naloxone,
flumazenil has a short half-life, and this needs to be taken into account because the patient may exhibit central nervous depression after the antidote has been cleared. Benzodiazepines are used in the treatment of
seizures and subsequently, the administration of flumazenil may result in seizures. Therefore, slow administration of flumazenil is necessary to prevent the occurrence of a seizure. These agents are rarely used in the setting of a colonoscopy as 98.8% of colonoscopies use
sedatives but only 0.8% of them result in the administration of one of these
antidotes. Even if they are rarely used in colonoscopies they are important in preventing the patient from entering a coma or developing
respiratory depression when sedatives are not properly dosed. Outside of the colonoscopy setting, these agents are used for other procedures and in the case of drug overdose.
[6]References
