Doxepin (low-dose for sleep)

Category: sleep

Aliases: Silenor

Pharmacological Mechanism

At low doses (3–6 mg) acts as a selective histamine H1 antagonist with minimal anticholinergic / antiadrenergic activity — sleep-maintenance hypnotic. Higher antidepressant doses (75–300 mg) lose the H1 selectivity.

Half-Life (t½)

PO: 15.3h

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 6 mg (Range: 3–6 mg)

Target Organ Systems

• nervous

Pathways It Modulates

• Tricyclic + atypical antidepressants (inhibitor) — H1 (selective at low dose)

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 6419921
• Formula: C19H22ClNO
• Molecular weight: 279.38 g/mol
• InChIKey: MHNSPTUQQIYJOT-SJDTYFKWSA-N
• SMILES: CN(C)CC/C=C/1\C2=CC=CC=C2COC3=CC=CC=C31.Cl

References

• PMID 12162857