Chemistry:Carisoprodol

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Short description: Muscle relaxant medication
Carisoprodol
Carisoprodol.svg
Clinical data
Pronunciation/kərˌaɪsʌˈproʊdɒl/
kahr-EYE-suh-PROH-dol
Trade namesSoma, others[1]
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
MedlinePlusa682578
License data
Pregnancy
category
  • C
Addiction
liability		Low[2]
Routes of
administration		By mouth
Drug classCarbamate
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Pharmacokinetic data
Protein binding60%
MetabolismLiver (CYP2C19-mediated)
MetabolitesMeprobamate
Onset of actionRapid (30 minutes[3][failed verification])
Elimination half-life2.5 hours [12 hours[nb 1]]
ExcretionKidney
Identifiers
CAS Number
PubChem CID
IUPHAR/BPS
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEBI
ChEMBL
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC12H24N2O4
Molar mass260.334 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  (verify)

Carisoprodol, sold under the brand name Soma among others, is a medication used for musculoskeletal pain.[4] Use is only approved for up to three weeks.[4] Effects generally begin within half an hour and last for up to six hours.[4] It is taken orally.[4]

Common side effects include headache, dizziness, and sleepiness.[4] Serious side effect may include addiction, allergic reactions, and seizures.[4] In people with a sulfa allergy certain formulations may result in problems.[4] Safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding is not clear.[4][5] How it works is not clear.[4] Some of its effects are believed to occur following being converted into meprobamate.[4]

Carisoprodol was approved for medical use in the United States in 1959.[4] Its approval in the European Union was withdrawn in 2008.[6] It is available as a generic medication.[4] In 2019, it was the 343rd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 800 thousand prescriptions.[7] In the United States, it is a Schedule IV controlled substance.[4]

Medical uses

Somadril Comp. – combination muscle relaxant medication containing carisoprodol, paracetamol (acetaminophen), and caffeine

Carisoprodol is meant to be used along with rest, physical therapy and other measures to relax muscles after strains, sprains and muscle injuries.[8] It comes in tablet format and is taken by the mouth three times a day and before bed.[8]

Side effects

The usual dose of 350 mg is unlikely to engender prominent side effects other than somnolence, and mild to significant euphoria or dysphoria, but the euphoria is generally short-lived due to the fast metabolism of carisoprodol into meprobamate and other metabolites; the euphoria derived is, according to new research[citation needed], most likely due to carisoprodol's inherent, potent anxiolytic effects that are far stronger than those produced by its primary metabolite, meprobamate, which is often misblamed for the drug-seeking associated with carisoprodol, as carisoprodol itself is responsible for the significantly more intense central nervous system effects than meprobamate alone. Carisoprodol has a qualitatively different set of effects to that of meprobamate (Miltown). The medication is well tolerated and without adverse effects in the majority of patients for whom it is indicated. In some patients, however, and/or early in therapy, carisoprodol can have the full spectrum of sedative side effects and can impair the patient's ability to operate a firearm, motor vehicles, and other machinery of various types, especially when taken with medications containing alcohol, in which case an alternative medication would be considered. The intensity of the side effects of carisoprodol tends to lessen as therapy continues, as is the case with many other drugs. Other side effects include: dizziness, clumsiness, headache, fast heart rate, upset stomach, vomiting and skin rash.[8]

The interaction of carisoprodol with essentially all opioids, and other centrally acting analgesics, but especially codeine, those of the codeine-derived subgroup of the semisynthetic class (ethylmorphine, dihydrocodeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, nicocodeine, benzylmorphine, the various acetylated codeine derivatives including acetyldihydrocodeine, dihydroisocodeine, nicodicodeine and others) which allows the use of a smaller dose of the opioid to have a given effect, is useful in general and especially where skeletal muscle injury and/or spasm is a large part of the problem. The potentiation effect is also useful in other pain situations and is also especially useful with opioids of the open-chain class, such as methadone, levomethadone, ketobemidone, phenadoxone and others. In recreational drug users, deaths have resulted from combining doses of hydrocodone and carisoprodol. Another danger of misuse of carisoprodol and opiates is the potential to asphyxiate while unconscious.[citation needed]

Meprobamate and other muscle-relaxing drugs often were subjects of misuse in the 1950s and 60s.[9][10] Overdose cases were reported as early as 1957, and have been reported on several occasions since then.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Carisoprodol is metabolized by the liver and excreted by the kidneys, so this drug must be used with caution with patients that have impaired hepatic or renal function.[18] Because of potential for more severe side effects, this drug is on the list to avoid for elderly people.[19]

Withdrawal

Carisoprodol, meprobamate, and related drugs such as tybamate, have the potential to produce physical dependence of the barbiturate type following periods of prolonged use. Withdrawal of the drug after extensive use may require hospitalization in medically compromised patients. In severe cases the withdrawal can mimic the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal including the potentially lethal status epilepticus.

Psychological dependence has also been linked to carisoprodol use[20] although this is much less severe than with meprobamate itself (presumably due to the slower onset of effects). Psychological dependence is more common in those who use carisoprodol non-medically and those who have a history of substance use (particularly sedatives or alcohol). It may reach clinical significance before physiological tolerance and dependence have occurred and (as with benzodiazepines) has been demonstrated to persist to varying degrees of severity for months or years after discontinuation.

Discontinuation of carisoprodol, as with all GABA-ergics, can result in cognitive changes which persist for weeks, months, or rarely even years including greatly increased anxiety and depression, social withdrawal, hair-trigger agitation/aggression, chronic insomnia, new or aggravated (often illogical) phobias, reduced IQ, short term and long-term memory loss, and dozens of other sequelae.[21] The effects, severity, and duration appear to be slightly dose-dependent but are mainly determined by the patients pattern of use (taken as prescribed, taken in bulk doses, mixed with other drugs, a combination of the above, etc.), genetic predisposition to substance use, and a history of substance use all increase the patients risk of persistent discontinuation syndrome symptoms.

Treatment for physical withdrawal generally involves switching the patient to a long-acting benzodiazepine such as diazepam or clonazepam then slowly titrating them off the replacement drug completely at a rate which is both reasonably comfortable for the patient but rapid enough for the managing physician to consider the rate of progress acceptable (overly rapid dose reduction greatly increases the risk of patient non-compliance such as the use of illicitly obtained alternative sedatives and/or alcohol). Psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy have demonstrated moderate success in reducing the rebound anxiety which results upon carisoprodol discontinuation but only when combined with regular and active attendance to a substance use support group.[citation needed]

Carisoprodol withdrawal can be life-threatening (especially in high dose users and those who attempt to quit "cold turkey"). Medical supervision is recommended, with gradual reduction of dose of carisoprodol or a substituted medication, typical of other depressant drugs.

Non-medical use

Combining a muscle relaxant like carisoprodol with opioids and benzodiazepines is referred to as "The Holy Trinity" as it has been reported to increase the power of the "high".[22]

Recreational users of carisoprodol usually seek its potentially heavy sedating, relaxant, and anxiolytic effects.[23] Also, because of its potentiating effects on narcotics, it is often used in conjunction with many opioid drugs. Also it is not detected on standard drug testing screens. On 26 March 2010 the DEA issued a Notice of Hearing on proposed rule making in respect to the placement of carisoprodol in schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act.[24] The DEA ended up classifying it under schedule IV.[25] Carisoprodol is sometimes mixed with date rape drugs.[26]

Many overdoses have resulted from recreational users combining these drugs to combine their individual effects without being aware of the enzyme-induction induced potentiation.

Overdose

As with other GABAergic drugs, combination with other drugs that depress the respiratory system, such as alcohol, sedatives and opioids possess a significant risk to the user in the form of overdose.[27] Overdose symptoms are similar to those of other GABAergics including excessive sedation and unresponsiveness to stimuli, severe ataxia, amnesia, confusion, agitation, intoxication and inappropriate (potentially violent) behavior. Severe overdoses may present with respiratory depression (and subsequent pulmonary aspiration), coma, and death.[28]

Carisoprodol is not detected on all toxicology tests which may delay diagnosis of overdose. Overdose symptoms in combination with opiates are similar but are distinguished by the presentation of normal or pinpoint pupils, which are generally unresponsive to light. Carisoprodol (as with its metabolite meprobamate) is particularly dangerous in combination with alcohol. Flumazenil (the benzodiazepine antidote) is not effective in the management of carisoprodol overdose as carisoprodol acts at the barbiturate binding site. Treatment mirrors that of barbiturate overdoses and is generally supportive, including the administration of mechanical respiration and pressors as implicated (and in rare cases, bemegride). Total amnesia of the experience is not uncommon following recovery.[citation needed]

In 2014 actress Skye McCole Bartusiak died of an overdose due to the combined effects of carisoprodol, hydrocodone and difluoroethane.[29]

Pharmacology

Pharmacodynamics

Carisoprodol, has a chemical structure similar to glutamate, a neurotransmitter, and dimethylglycine.

Carisoprodol's structural similarity to meprobamate indicates GABAergic activity, including GABAA agonism, similar to the mechanism of benzodiazepines.[30] This will allow for further muscle relaxation and anxiety reduction. Therefore, carisoprodol, at low to moderate dosages, may be clinically indicated for absent seizures, yet exacerbate tonic-clonic seizures.

Pharmacokinetics

Carisoprodol has a rapid, 30-minute onset of action, with the aforementioned effects lasting about two to six hours. It is metabolized in the liver via the cytochrome P450 oxidase isozyme CYP2C19, excreted by the kidneys and has about an eight-hour half-life. In patients with low levels of CYP2C19 (poor metabolizers), standard doses can lead to increased concentrations of carisoprodol (up-to a four-fold increase).[31] A considerable proportion of carisoprodol is metabolized to meprobamate, which is a known addictive substance; this could account for the addictive potential of carisoprodol (meprobamate levels reach higher peak plasma levels than carisoprodol itself following administration).

It is slightly soluble in water and freely soluble in ethanol, chloroform and acetone. The drug's solubility is practically independent of pH.

History

On 1 June 1959, several American pharmacologists convened at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan to discuss a newly discovered structural analogue of meprobamate. The substitution of one hydrogen atom with an isopropyl group on one of the carbamyl nitrogens was intended to yield a drug with new pharmacological properties. It had been developed by Frank Berger at Wallace Laboratories and was named carisoprodol.[32]

Building on meprobamate's pharmacological effects, carisoprodol was intended to have better muscle relaxing properties, less potential for addiction, and a lower risk of overdose. Carisoprodol's effect profile did indeed turn out to differ significantly with respect to meprobamate, with carisoprodol possessing stronger muscle relaxant and analgesic effects.[33]

Usage and legal status

Norway

Reports from Norway have shown carisoprodol has addictive potential[34] as a prodrug of meprobamate and/or potentiator of hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine, and similar drugs. In May 2008 it was taken off the market in Norway.[35]

European Union

In the EU, the European Medicines Agency issued a release recommending member states suspend marketing authorization for this product in the treatment of acute (not chronic) back pain.[36]

As of November 2007, carisoprodol has been taken off the market in Sweden due to problems with dependence and side effects. The agency overseeing pharmaceuticals considered other drugs used with the same indications as carisoprodol to have the same or better effects without the risks of the drug.[37]

United States

Until 12 December 2011, when the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued the final ruling placing the substance carisoprodol into Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), carisoprodol was not a controlled substance. The placement of carisoprodol into Schedule IV was effective 11 January 2012.[38]

Carisoprodol is available generically as 350 mg and, more recently, 250 mg tablets. Compounded tablets with acetaminophen and codeine are also available.[39]

Canada

Federally, carisoprodol is a prescription drug (Schedule I, sub-schedule F1).[40] Provincial regulations vary.[41] It is no longer readily available.

Indonesia

  • In September 2013, carisoprodol was taken off the market due to problems with diversion, dependence and side effects.
  • In September 2017, one child died and 50 had seizures when PCC, which stands for "Paracetamol Caffeine Carisoprodol" was mixed (probably illicit) into children's drinks in elementary and junior high schools in Kendari.[42]

Notes

  1. ↑ At least 25% of the carisoprodol in the body is transformed by the liver into meprobamate, its main active metabolite, which in turn has a half-life of 10 hours.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Carisoprodol". https://www.drugs.com/international/carisoprodol.html. 
  2. ↑ https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Letra C (Carisoprodol)" (in es). Diccionario de Especialidades Farmaceúticas PLM. I (65th ed.). Mexico City: PLM Latinoamérica. 13 September 2019. p. 222. ISBN 978-607-625-072-3. https://www.medicamentosplm.com/Home/Medicamentos_Sustancia/carisoprodol/222. Retrieved 13 June 2021. 
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 "Carisoprodol Monograph for Professionals" (in en). American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. https://www.drugs.com/monograph/carisoprodol.html. 
  5. ↑ "DailyMed - carisoprodol tablet". https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=ab22f1be-16c8-45b6-adaf-09e08bf7a545. 
  6. ↑ "Carisoprodol". 15 November 2007. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/referrals/carisoprodol. 
  7. ↑ "Carisoprodol - Drug Usage Statistics". https://clincalc.com/DrugStats/Drugs/Carisoprodol. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Carisoprodol". National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682578.html. 
  9. ↑ "Death due to massive overdose of meprobamate". The American Journal of Psychiatry 115 (12): 1123–1124. June 1959. doi:10.1176/ajp.115.12.1123-a. PMID 13649976. 
  10. ↑ "The pre-benzodiazepine era". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 15 (1–2): 9–13. 1983. doi:10.1080/02791072.1983.10472117. PMID 6350551. 
  11. ↑ "Meprobamate overdosage: a continuing problem. Sensitive GC-MS quantitation after solid phase extraction in 19 fatal cases". Forensic Science International 86 (3): 173–180. May 1997. doi:10.1016/S0379-0738(97)02128-2. PMID 9180026. 
  12. ↑ "Meprobamate overdosage: a continuing problem". Clinical Toxicology 11 (5): 501–515. December 1977. doi:10.3109/15563657708988216. PMID 608316. 
  13. ↑ "Fatal meprobamate self-poisoning". The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 9 (2): 139–140. June 1988. doi:10.1097/00000433-198806000-00009. PMID 3381792. 
  14. ↑ "Meprobamate poisoning, hypotension and the Swan-Ganz catheter". Intensive Care Medicine 14 (4): 437–438. 1988. doi:10.1007/BF00262904. PMID 3403779. 
  15. ↑ "Treatment of hypotension in meprobamate poisoning". The New England Journal of Medicine 296 (17): 1004. April 1977. doi:10.1056/NEJM197704282961717. PMID 846530. 
  16. ↑ "Coma due to meprobamate intoxication; report of a case confirmed by chemical analysis". Lancet 1 (7067): 288–290. February 1959. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(59)90209-0. PMID 13632000. 
  17. ↑ "Severe hypotensive reactions following meprobamate overdosage". Annals of Internal Medicine 51 (3): 607–612. September 1959. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-51-3-607. PMID 13801701. 
  18. ↑ "CARISOPRODOL". National Library of Medicine. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+3021. 
  19. ↑ NCQA's HEDIS Measure: Use of High Risk Medications in the Elderly
  20. ↑ "What is Carisoprodol used for?" (in en-US). 2021-03-19. https://painosoma.com/blog/what-is-carisoprodol-used-for/. 
  21. ↑ "Persistence of cognitive effects after withdrawal from long-term benzodiazepine use: a meta-analysis". Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 19 (3): 437–454. April 2004. doi:10.1016/S0887-6177(03)00096-9. PMID 15033227. 
  22. ↑ "The Pharmacology and Toxicology of the 'Holy Trinity'". Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology 120 (2): 115–119. February 2017. doi:10.1111/bcpt.12655. PMID 27550152. 
  23. ↑ "DEA Drugs & Chemicals of Concern "Carisoprodol"". http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/carisoprodol.htm. 
  24. ↑ "Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of Carisoprodol Into Schedule IV; Announcement of Hearing". http://www.pharmcast.com/FederalRegistrar/Yr2010/Mar2010/032210/Carisoprodol032610.htm. 
  25. ↑ "Carisoprodol". Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Division, Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section. U.S. Department of Justice. December 2019. https://deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/carisoprodol/carisoprodol.pdf. 
  26. ↑ "Knock-out drugs: their prevalence, modes of action, and means of detection". Deutsches Ärzteblatt International 106 (20): 341–347. May 2009. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2009.0341. PMID 19547737. 
  27. ↑ "Carisoprodol - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/carisoprodol#:~:text=Carisoprodol%20overdosage%20should%20be%20regarded,have%20been%20observed%20(4).. 
  28. ↑ "What Does a Soma Overdose Look Like?" (in en). https://projectknow.com/overdose/soma/. 
  29. ↑ "'Patriot' actress Skye McCole Bartusiak dead at 21". July 22, 2014. https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/20/showbiz/obit-skyemccolebartusiak/index.html. 
  30. ↑ "Carisoprodol". StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. 2022. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553077/. Retrieved 2022-02-23. 
  31. ↑ "Carisoprodol Therapy and CYP2C19 Genotype". Medical Genetics Summaries. 4 April 2017. PMID 28520382. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425390. 
  32. ↑ Miller JG, ed. The pharmacology and clinical usefulness of carisoprodol. Detroit:Wayne State University; 1959.
  33. ↑ "The history, chemistry, and pharmacology of carisoprodol". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 86 (1): 90–107. March 1960. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1960.tb42792.x. PMID 13799302. Bibcode: 1960NYASA..86...90B. 
  34. ↑ "Carisoprodol use and abuse in Norway: a pharmacoepidemiological study". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 64 (2): 210–218. August 2007. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2007.02847.x. PMID 17298482. 
  35. ↑ "Somadril trekkes fra markedet" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Medicines Agency. 20 April 2008. http://www.legemiddelverket.no/templates/InterPage____71544.aspx. 
  36. ↑ "Carisprodol press release". EMEA. http://www.emea.europa.eu/pdfs/human/press/pr/Pressrelease_Carisoprodol_52046307en.pdf. 
  37. ↑ "Marknadsföringen av Somadril och Somadril comp rekommenderas upphöra tillfälligt" (in sv). 16 November 2007. http://www.lakemedelsverket.se/Tpl/NewsPage____6712.aspx. 
  38. ↑ US Department of Justice (2011). "Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of Carisoprodol into Schedule IV". Federal Register 76 (238): 77330–77360. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-12-12/pdf/2011-31542.pdf. Retrieved 1 February 2012. 
  39. ↑ "High Cost, No Benefit – The Rheumatologist". http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1246915/High_Cost_No_Benefit.html. 
  40. ↑ "NAPRA – Search National Drug Schedule" (ASP). National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities. 2009. http://napra.ca/pages/Schedules/Search.aspx. 
  41. ↑ For British Columbia, see library.bcpharmacists.org/D-Legislation_Standards
  42. ↑ "One Schoolchild Dies, More Than 50 Suffer Seizures After Consuming Pills in Southeast Sulawesi". Jakarta Globe. 14 September 2017. http://jakartaglobe.id/news/one-schoolchild-dies-50-suffer-seizures-consuming-pills-southeast-sulawesi/. 

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