Ethchlorvynol

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Ethchlorvynol
Systematic (IUPAC) name
1-chloro-3-ethyl-pent-1-en-4-yn-3-ol
Identifiers
CAS number	113-18-8
ATC code	N05CM08
PubChem	3281
DrugBank	APRD00958
Chemical data
Formula	C7H9ClO
Mol. mass	144.598 g/mol
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability	?
Protein binding	35-50%
Metabolism	?
Half life	?
Excretion	?
Therapeutic considerations
Pregnancy cat.	?
Legal status	Schedule IV[1]
Routes	Oral

Ethchlorvynol is a sedative and hypnotic drug. It has been used to treat insomnia, but has been largely superseded and is only offered where an intolerance or allergy to other drugs exists.

Along with expected sedative effects of relaxation and drowsiness ethchlorvynol can cause skin rashes, faintness, restlessness and euphoria. Early adjustment side effects can include nausea and vomiting, numbness, blurred vision, stomach pains and temporary dizziness. An overdose is marked by confusion, fever, peripheral numbness and weakness, reduced coordination and muscle control, slurred speech, reduced heartbeat.

It is addictive and after prolonged use can cause withdrawal symptoms including convulsions, hallucinations and memory loss. Due to these problems it is unusual for ethchlorvynol to be prescribed for periods exceeding seven days.

Ethchlorvynol is a member of the class of sedative-hypnotic tertiary carbinols such as methylparafynol. It is not a barbituric acid derivative. The systematic name of ethchlorvynol is usually given as ethyl 2-chlorovinyl ethynyl carbinol or 1-chloro-3-ethyl-1-penten-4-yl-3-ol. Its empirical formula is C₇H₉ClO. In the United States Abbott Laboratories used to sell it under the tradename Placidyl. During their heyday, they were known on the street as "jelly-bellies". Since Abbott and Banner Pharmacaps, which manufactured the generic version, discontinued production in 1999, ethchlorvynol is no longer available in the United States.

Placidyl is the drug which William Rehnquist was prescribed for insomnia after back surgery in 1971, according to FBI files obtained after Rehnquist's death. Before he was hospitalized in 1981, court employees noticed that Rehnquist's speech was slurred and that he seemed to be having mental lapses. The hospital doctors took him off the medication, causing withdrawal symptoms which included hallucinations.^[2]

One of the physicians who treated Rehnquist for Placidyl withdrawal, according to the FBI files, described auditory hallucinations in the form of voices discussing him outside his hospital room. At one point the Justice tried to flee the hospital in his pajamas specifically because of the mistaken belief that the CIA was plotting against him.^[3]

Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, William Rehnquist (1924-2005), consumed great quantities of Placidyl according to FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. So great was Rehnquist's Placidyl addiction that in 1981 he began slurring his speech in public, became tongue-tied while pronouncing long words, and sometimes had trouble finishing his thoughts. The FBI investigated his dependence on Placidyl, which Rehnquist had taken for at least 10 years, according to a summary of a 1970 medical examination. When Rehnquist checked into a hospital in 1981 for a weeklong stay, doctors stopped administering the drug, causing what a hospital spokesman said was a "disturbance in mental clarity.” The FBI file, citing one of his physicians, said Rehnquist experienced withdrawal symptoms that included trying to escape the hospital in his pajamas and hallucinations (discerning changes in the patterns on hospital curtains). The justice also thought he heard voices outside his room discussing various plots against him by the CIA.

[edit] References and end notes

• PubChem Substance Summary: Ethchlorvynol National Center for Biotechnology Information. Accessed 1 September 2005 (UTC)
• Electronic Orange Book: Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations Food and Drug Administration. Accessed 12 December 2005 (UTC)

• FBI: Rehnquist withdrew from painkillers (CNN.com) Accessed 5 Jan. 2007