Secobarbital/brallobarbital/hydroxyzine explained

Secobarbital/brallobarbital/hydroxyzine was a combination tablet containing 50 mg brallobarbital, 150 mg secobarbital and 50 mg hydroxyzine^[1] that was used as a sedative. It was sold under the brand name Vesparax. This drug has been withdrawn from the market in most countries.

Hydroxyzine and secobarbital lengthen the half-life of brallobarbital. Because of this long half-life, it has symptoms resembling a hangover on the next day.^{[2] [3]}

Jimi Hendrix was under the influence of Vesparax when he died of asphyxia due to aspiration of vomit on 18 September 1970.^[4]

Further reading

• Sticht G, Käferstein H . [Results of toxicological investigations on vesparax-poisonings (author's transl)] . Zeitschrift für Rechtsmedizin. Journal of Legal Medicine . 85 . 3 . 169–75 . 1980 . 7415572 . 10.1007/bf02116316 . 32744951 .

Notes and References

1. Lhermann J . [Clinical Application of a New Very Active Hypnotic Associating Sodium Secobarbital, Calcium Brallobarbital and Hydroxyzine (Uc-8130)] . Gazette Médicale de France . 71 . 961–2 . March 1964 . 14142825 .
2. Yih TD, Rossum JM . Peculiar pharmacokinetics of brallobarbital as a source of complications in Vesparax intoxication . Xenobiotica; the Fate of Foreign Compounds in Biological Systems . 6 . 6 . 355–62 . June 1976 . 969563 . 10.3109/00498257609151647 .
3. Fischbach R . Efficacy and safety of midazolam and vesparax in treatment of sleep disorders . British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology . 16 . 167S–171S . 1983 . Suppl 1 . 6138072 . 1428085 . 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1983.tb02290.x .
4. Book: Brown, Tony . 1997 . Jimi Hendrix: The Final Days . Omnibus Press . 978-0-7119-5238-6. 159.