Escuret E
Département d'anesthésie-réanimation B, Hôpital Saint Eloi, Montpellier.
Agressologie. 1991;32(8-9 Spec No):417-26.
Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a simple four carbon molecule which is a natural constituent of many mammalian tissues in the central nervous system (CNS) and in several tissues of the body. The synthesis of GHB is not the same in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues. GHB modifies the rates and/or the levels of the synthesis of several neurotransmitters. Its natural presence in the CNS, its pharmacological effects and its action on various behaviours have raised the problem of GHB as a neurotransmitter. GHB can reduce energy substrate consumption in both brain and peripheral tissues and it can protect these tissues from the damaging effects of anoxia. In conditions of anoxia or excessive metabolic demand endogenous GHB levels rise. GHB seems to act through the endogenous opioid system. GHB natural function would be to induce the state of hibernation in which one can evidence a trance-like state and hypothermia with high rates of GHB. The synthesis of GHB through a reductive process and breakdown through oxidation suggest that it accumulates under hypoxic conditions. On top of its present clinical use as hypnotic, general anesthetic and in neurotraumatology, GHB would have therapeutic applications in states of anoxia that generates amino-acid excitators and free radicals.
γ-羟基丁酸（GHB）是一种简单的四碳分子，是许多哺乳动物中枢神经系统（CNS）及身体其他多个组织的天然成分。GHB在中枢神经系统和外周组织中的合成方式不同。GHB会改变多种神经递质的合成速率和/或水平。其在中枢神经系统中的天然存在、药理作用以及对各种行为的影响引发了GHB是否为神经递质的问题。GHB可降低大脑和外周组织中的能量底物消耗，并能保护这些组织免受缺氧的损害。在缺氧或代谢需求过高的情况下，内源性GHB水平会升高。GHB似乎通过内源性阿片系统发挥作用。GHB的天然功能可能是诱导冬眠状态，在此状态下可出现类似恍惚的状态和体温过低，且GHB水平较高。通过还原过程合成GHB以及通过氧化过程分解GHB表明它在缺氧条件下会积累。除了目前作为催眠药、全身麻醉药以及在神经创伤学中的临床应用外，GHB在产生氨基酸兴奋性递质和自由基的缺氧状态下可能具有治疗应用价值。
