Iomazenil
Chemical compound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Iomazenil (also known as Ro16-0154, INN, USAN; benzodine) is an antagonist and partial inverse agonist of benzodiazepine and a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder. The compound was introduced in 1989 by pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche as an Iodine-123-labelled SPECT tracer for imaging benzodiazepine receptors (GABAA receptors) in the brain. Iomazenil is an analogue of flumazenil (Ro15-1788).[1]
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| Other names | Ro 16-0154 |
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| Formula | C15H14123IN3O3 |
| Molar mass | 407.290 g/mol |
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Use in brain research
123I-labelled iomazenil can be used to image epileptic seizure foci as an alternative to 18F-fludeoxyglucose PET imaging.[2][3]
The effect of iomazenil of reducing levels of GABA in the brain was used by researchers to exacerbate symptoms in patients with schizophrenia in a laboratory study, supporting the theory that a GABA deficiency underlies that disease.[4]
Alcohol treatment
Researchers at Yale University and Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System have been testing iomazenil as a potential treatment for drunkenness due to its ability to bind alcohol receptors in the brain.[5]