Tipepidine
Tipepidine
Chemical compound
Tipepidine (INN) (brand names Asverin, Antupex, Asvelik, Asvex, Bitiodin, Cofdenin A, Hustel, Nodal, Sotal), also known as tipepidine hibenzate (JAN), is a synthetic, non-opioid antitussive and expectorant of the thiambutene class.[1][2] It acts as an inhibitor of G protein-coupled inwardly-rectifying potassium channels (GIRKs).[3] The drug was discovered in the 1950s,[4] and was developed in Japan in 1959.[5] It is used as the hibenzate and citrate salts.[1][5]
The usual dose is 20 mg every 4–6 hours.[citation needed] Possible side effects of tipepidine, especially in overdose, may include drowsiness, vertigo, delirium, disorientation, loss of consciousness, and confusion.[5]
Tipepidine has been investigated as a potential psychiatric drug. It is being investigated in depression,[3][6][7] obsessive-compulsive disorder,[8] and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[9][10][11] Through inhibition of GIRK channels, tipepidine increases dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, but without increasing locomotor activity or producing methamphetamine-like behavioral sensitization, and this action appears to be at least partly responsible for its antidepressant-like effects in rodents.[12][13]