Alprazolam

Category: pharmacological

Aliases: Xanax

Pharmacological Mechanism

Benzodiazepine — positive allosteric modulator of GABA-A at the α1/α2/α3/α5-BZ site. Triazole ring confers short t½ + high potency. Greater anti-panic activity than diazepam.

Half-Life (t½)

PO: 16h, SL: 16h

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 1.5 mg (Range: 0.25–4 mg)
• SL: Typical 1.5 mg (Range: 0.25–4 mg)

Target Organ Systems

• nervous

Interactions

• Opioids (major): Additive respiratory depression. Black-box warning. [Jones 2015]

Pathways It Modulates

• GABA-A receptor signaling (activator) — BZD site (α1/2/3/5)

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 2118
• Formula: C17H13ClN4
• Molecular weight: 308.77 g/mol
• InChIKey: VREFGVBLTWBCJP-UHFFFAOYSA-N
• SMILES: CC1=NN=C2N1C3=C(C=C(C=C3)Cl)C(=NC2)C4=CC=CC=C4

References

• PMID 1684924
• PMID 26143953