Furosemide, a sulfonamide-type loop diuretic structurally related to bumetanide, is used to manage hypertension and edema associated with congestive heart failure, cirrhosis, and renal disease, including the nephrotic syndrome. Furosemide inhibits water reabsorption in the nephron by blocking the sodium-potassium-chloride cotransporter (NKCC2) in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle. This is achieved through competitive inhibition at the chloride binding site on the cotransporter, thus preventing the transport of sodium from the lumen of the loop of Henle into the basolateral interstitium. Consequently, the lumen becomes more hypertonic while the interstitium becomes less hypertonic, which in turn diminishes the osmotic gradient for water reabsorption throughout the nephron. Because the thick ascending limb is responsible for 25% of sodium reabsorption in the nephron, furosemide is a very potent diuretic. Furosemide is sold under the brand name Lasix among others.

Oxazepam is the first of a chemical series of compounds, the 3-hydroxybenzodiazepinones. A therapeutic agent providing versatility and flexibility in control of common emotional disturbances, this product exerts prompt action in a wide variety of disorders associated with anxiety, tension, agitation and irritability, and anxiety associated with depression. Oxazepam has distinguished itself clinically from other benzodiazepines by virtue of its excellent tolerance. Because of its excellent tolerance, dosage is very flexible, and it is, therefore, possible to utilize oxazepam in a wide spectrum of anxiety-related disorders including the psychoses. Oxazepam has been administered to humans by the oral route only. Usual ranges for kinetic parameters are: elimination half-life, 5 to 15 hours; volume of distribution, 0.6 to 2.0 L/kg; clearance, 0.9 to 2.0 ml/min/kg. Age and liver disease have a minimal influence on oxazepam kinetics, but renal disease is associated with a prolonged half-life and increased volume of distribution.

Valproic acid (VPA; valproate; di-n-propylacetic acid, DPA; 2-propylpentanoic acid, or 2-propylvaleric acid) was first synthesized in 1882, by Burton. FDA approved valproic acid for the treatment of manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder, for the monotherapy and adjunctive therapy of complex partial seizures and simple and complex absence seizures and adjunctive therapy in patients with multiple seizure types that include absence seizures and for the prophylaxis of migraine headaches. The mechanisms of VPA which seem to be of clinical importance in the treatment of epilepsy include increased gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic activity, reduction in excitatory neurotransmission, and modification of monoamines. Recently, it was discovered that the VPA is a class I selective histone deacetylase inhibitor. This activity can be distinguished from its therapeutically exploited antiepileptic activity.

Amitriptyline is a derivative of dibenzocycloheptadiene and a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) and is mainly used to treat symptoms of depression. It works on the central nervous system (CNS) by inhibiting the membrane pump mechanism responsible for uptake of norepinephrine and serotonin in adrenergic and serotonergic neurons. Amitriptyline has been frequently used as an active comparator in clinical trials on newer antidepressants. It is rarely used as a first-line antidepressant nowadays due to its high degree of toxicity in overdose and generally poorer tolerability than the newer antidepressants.

Dexamethasone is an anti-inflammatory agent that is FDA approved for the treatment of many conditions, including rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, croup, brain swelling and others. Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid agonist. Unbound dexamethasone crosses cell membranes and binds with high affinity to specific cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptors. Adverse reactions are: Glaucoma with optic nerve damage, visual acuity and field defects; cataract formation; secondary ocular infection following suppression of host response; and perforation of the globe may occur; muscle weakness; osteoporosis and others. Aminoglutethimide may diminish adrenal suppression by corticosteroids. Macrolide antibiotics have been reported to cause a significant decrease in corticosteroid clearance.

Leucovorin is a compound similar to folic acid, which is a necessary vitamin. It has been around and in use for many decades. Leucovorin is a medication frequently used in combination with the chemotherapy drugs fluoruracil and methotrexate. Leucovorin is not a chemotherapy drug itself, however it is used in addition to these chemotherapy drugs to enhance anticancer effects (with fluorouracil) or to help prevent or lessen side effects (with methotrexate). Leucovorin is also used by itself to treat certain anemia problems when folic acid deficiency is present.

Estradiol benzoate is the synthetic benzoate ester of estradiol, a steroid sex hormone vital to the maintenance of fertility and secondary sexual characteristics in females. As the primary, most potent estrogen hormone produced by the ovaries, estradiol binds to and activates specific nuclear receptors. This agent exhibits mild anabolic and metabolic properties, and increases blood coagulability. Although estradiol benzoate is not approved by the FDA for use in humans in the United States, it is approved for veterinary use as a subdermal implant both alone (CELERIN®) and in combination with the anabolic steroid trenbolone acetate (SYNOVEX® Plus).

Cholecalciferol (/ˌkoʊləkælˈsɪfərɒl/) (vitamin D3) is one of the five forms of vitamin D. Cholecalciferol is a steroid hormone that has long been known for its important role in regulating body levels of calcium and phosphorus, in mineralization of bone, and for the assimilation of Vitamin A. The classical manifestation of vitamin D deficiency is rickets, which is seen in children and results in bony deformities including bowed long bones. Most people meet at least some of their vitamin D needs through exposure to sunlight. Ultraviolet (UV) B radiation with a wavelength of 290–320 nanometers penetrates uncovered skin and converts cutaneous 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3, which in turn becomes vitamin D3. In supplements and fortified foods, vitamin D is available in two forms, D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol) that differ chemically only in their side-chain structure. Vitamin D2 is manufactured by the UV irradiation of ergosterol in yeast, and vitamin D3 is manufactured by the irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol from lanolin and the chemical conversion of cholesterol. The two forms have traditionally been regarded as equivalent based on their ability to cure rickets and, indeed, most steps involved in the metabolism and actions of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 are identical. Both forms (as well as vitamin D in foods and from cutaneous synthesis) effectively raise serum 25(OH) D levels. Firm conclusions about any different effects of these two forms of vitamin D cannot be drawn. However, it appears that at nutritional doses, vitamins D2 and D3 are equivalent, but at high doses, vitamin D2 is less potent. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that exclusively and partially breastfed infants receive supplements of 400 IU/day of vitamin D shortly after birth and continue to receive these supplements until they are weaned and consume ≥1,000 mL/day of vitamin D-fortified formula or whole milk. Cholecalciferol is used in diet supplementary to treat Vitamin D Deficiency. Cholecalciferol is inactive: it is converted to its active form by two hydroxylations: the first in the liver, the second in the kidney, to form calcitriol, whose action is mediated by the vitamin D receptor, a nuclear receptor which regulates the synthesis of hundreds of enzymes and is present in virtually every cell in the body. Calcitriol increases the serum calcium concentrations by increasing GI absorption of phosphorus and calcium, increasing osteoclastic resorption, and increasing distal renal tubular reabsorption of calcium. Calcitriol appears to promote intestinal absorption of calcium through binding to the vitamin D receptor in the mucosal cytoplasm of the intestine. Subsequently, calcium is absorbed through formation of a calcium-binding protein.

Codeine is an opiate used to manage mild to moderate pain severe enough to require an opioid. Codeine is a selective agonist for the mu opioid receptor and has an affinity to delta and kappa-opioid receptors. In some countries, this drug is regulated under various narcotic control laws, because its chronic use can cause physical dependence. In others, it is available without a medical prescription in combination with paracetamol.