Citation

Balon R, Starcevic V, Silberman E, Cosci F, Dubovsky S, Fava GA, Nardi AE, Rickels K, Salzman C, Shader RI, Sonino N. Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Associacao Brasileira de Psiquiatria)

DOI

10.1590/1516-4446-2019-0773

PMID

32159714

Abstract

The path of discovery has varied for various psychotropic medications, at times beginning with serendipitous findings by keen observers (e.g., the discovery of imipramine’s antidepressant properties by Roland Kuhn), followed by more targeted research to expand the armamentarium with similar medications. In the mid-1940s, Frank Berger observed that mephenesin had calming, yet not sedating, properties in rodents. This compound had several disadvantages, such as very short duration of action and weak activity. Thus, Berger with a colleague at Carter-Wallace, a small pharmaceutical company, later synthetized meprobamate, overcoming the shortcomings of mephenesin. By the mid-1950s meprobamate became a blockbuster drug under the name of Miltown, in spite of not performing better than placebo in clinical trials.1 Berger wanted to call it a sedative but was persuaded by others that it provided tranquil feelings, thus tranquilizers (and, later, minor tranquilizers) were “born.” ...

Language: en