Bemegride (trademarked as Megimide) is a

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...

stimulant Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...

. The drug was first made in 1911. It has been used in hypnotic overdose. As with other chemoreceptor agonists, it is a potent

emetic Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteri ...

at doses above those normally used in management of barbiturate overdose although emesis and aspiration are a concern during treatment. It is a

controlled substance A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Single C ...

in some countries.

Animal use

Bemegride is also used to induce

convulsion A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is sometimes used as a s ...

s in experimental animals.

Synthesis

The original synthesis involves first the condensation of methylethylketone with two equivalents of

cyanoacetamide 2-Cyanoacetamide is an organic compound. It is an acetic amide with a nitrile functional group. Uses Cyanoacetamide is used in Fluorescence spectroscopy, spectrofluorimetric methods to determine the activity of Antihistamine#H1-antihistamines, an ...

. The product can be rationalized by assuming first aldol condensation of ketone and active methylene compound followed by dehydration to give 3.

Conjugate addition Nucleophilic conjugate addition is a type of organic reaction. Ordinary nucleophilic additions or 1,2-nucleophilic additions deal mostly with additions to carbonyl compounds. Simple alkene compounds do not show 1,2 reactivity due to lack of polarit ...

of a second molecule of

would afford 4. Addition of one of the amide amines to the nitrile would then afford the iminonitrile 5. The observed product 6 can be rationalized by assuming loss of the

carboxamide In organic chemistry, an amide, also known as an organic amide or a carboxamide, is a compound with the general formula , where R, R', and R″ represent organic groups or hydrogen atoms. The amide group is called a peptide bond when it is ...

under strongly basic conditions. Decarboxylative hydrolysis of 6 then leads to bemigride 7.

John Bodkin Adams case

Bemegride was the drug which suspected

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

Dr John Bodkin Adams who failed to prescribe correctly to his patient Gertrude Hullett. Hullett took an overdose of barbiturates on 19 July 1956 but Adams only gave her a single 10 cc dose of bemegride three days later on the 22nd, despite having acquired 100cc for her treatment. Hullett died the next day on 23 July 1956. Adams was charged but never tried for her murder.Cullen, Pamela V., ''A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams'', London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006,

References

Antidotes Stimulants Respiratory agents Convulsants Glutarimides GABAA receptor negative allosteric modulators {{respiratory-system-drug-stub