CNS stimulants

Introduction - Analeptic drugs stimulate the central nervous system (CNS). This is accomplished by blocking inhibition or enhancing excitation. Analeptic drugs used in veterinary medicine today include doxapram and the methylxanthines (caffeine, theophylline, and aminophylline). Their original use was to provide CNS stimulation in the face of CNS depression but this use has fallen out of favor due to their lack of specificity and side effects. Doxapram and methylxanthines are used to stimulate respirations especially in apnea of prematurity in human infants and foals. The most common clinical use of doxapram is to evaluate airway function by stimulation of the arytenoids following dose-dependent depression by anesthetic drugs.