Chloramphenicol is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that was first isolated from Streptomyces venezuelae in 1947. The drug was subsequently chemically synthesized. It has both a bacteriostatic and bactericidal effect; in the usual therapeutic concentrations it is bacteriostatic. Chloramphenicol is used for the treatment of serious gram-negative, gram-positive, and anaerobic infections. It is especially useful in the treatment of meningitis, typhoid fever, and cystic fibrosis. It should be reserved for infections for which other drugs are ineffective or contraindicated. Chloramphenicol, a small inhibitor of bacterial protein synthesis, is active against a variety of bacteria and readily enters the CSF. It has been used extensively in the last decades for the treatment of bacterial meningitis. In industrialized countries, chloramphenicol is restricted mostly to topical uses because of the risk of induction of aplastic anemia. However, it remains a valuable reserve antibiotic for patients with allergy to β-lactam antibiotics or with CNS infections caused by multiresistant pathogens.

The therapeutic use of radioactive colloidal gold Gold Au-198 (Au198) was first described by Sheppard et al., who reported on intravenous use in 1947. Its possibilities for the treatment of various malignant processes have been explored in great variation. Gold Au-198 is an antineoplastic, diagnostic aid (liver imaging) and radioactive agent. Thus, intracavitary instillation of colloidal radioactive gold Au-198 was used for treatment of patients with multiple papillomata of the bladder. Approximately 300 mc. of gold was instilled into the bladder for four to six hours to deliver a dose of about 4,000 to 5,000 r to the bladder epithelium. The treatment had no harmful side-effects locally or on the general condition of the patient. It was also used to estimate the hepatic blood flow in children with active or progressive chronic hepatitis. Gold Au-198 was used in the combination therapy of rectal cancer.

Methoxyphenamine also known as 2-methoxy-N-methylamphetamine (OMMA), is a beta adrenergic receptor agonist nd is used as a bronchodilator to treat asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and postinfectious cough. In addition, methoxyphenamine using is prohibited in sports according to the regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Methoxamine is an alpha-adrenergic agonist that induces prolonged peripheral vasoconstriction, and can also stimulate the release of arginine vasopressin in humans. In clinical trials, methoxamine was found to improve fecal incontinence. It had been marketed by Glaxo-Smith-Kline under the brand name Vasoxyl but has been discontinued. Methoxamine was also found to stimulate the induction of hiPSC-derived hepatoblasts to ALBUMIN+ cells.

Aurothioglucose (trade name Solganal), also known as gold thioglucose, is a glucose derivative formerly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, that cannot be adequately controlled by other medicines. Aurothioglucose has been shown to inhibit protein kinase C, a metalloenzyme containing Zn(2+) bound to cysteine and histidine residues, which plays a crucial role in intracellular signal transduction by phosphorylating serine/threonine residues in the protein. The inhibition of protein kinase C has been suggested as a possible mode of action for the therapeutic antirheumatic action of gold drugs. In 2001, aurothioglucose was withdrawn from the Dutch market, where it had been the only injectable gold preparation available since 1943, forcing hospitals to change medication for a large number of patients to aurothiomalate. The drug had been in use for more than 70 years, and four years later the reasons for its sudden disappearance remained unclear.

Nicotinyl alcohol is a direct-acting vasolidator, that may decrease the blood pressure and it is a cholesterol-lowering agent. Nicotinyl alcohol as a tartrate salt led to the efficiency improvements in patients with intermittent claudication. In addition, nicotinyl alcohol alone or associated with other drugs was studied in the treatment of radicular syndromes; and was shown, that the effect had not been due to mechanical compression.

Inositol is a vitamin-like substance. It is found in many plants and animals. It is produced by the human body from glucose, it is not an essential nutrient. Inositol and some of its mono- and polyphosphates function as the basis for a number of signaling and secondary messenger molecules. Inositol is used for diabetic nerve pain, panic disorder, high cholesterol, insomnia, cancer, depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, promoting hair growth, a skin disorder called psoriasis, and treating side effects of medical treatment with lithium. Inositol is also used by mouth for treating conditions associated with polycystic ovary syndrome, including failure to ovulate; high blood pressure; high triglycerides; and high levels of testosterone. Inositol is possibly safe for most adults. It can cause nausea, tiredness, headache, and dizziness.

Glycobiarsol was known under the brand name Milibis. Glycobiarsol is found to be very effective in intestinal infections. Milibis is an antiprotozoal agent that has been used in humans as well as in dogs.

Paramethadione is an anticonvulsant in the oxazolidinedione class developed by the Abbott Laboratories, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1949 for the treatment of absence seizures, also called partial seizures. Paramethadione acts to reduce T-type calcium currents in thalamic neurons which has been proposed to underlie the 3-Hz spike-and-wave discharge seen on electroencephalogram (EEG) during absence seizures.

Tripelennamine (sold as Pyribenzamine by Novartis) is a drug that is used as an antipruritic and first-generation antihistamine. Histamine acting on H1-receptors produces vasodilatation, hypotension, flushing, headache, tachycardia, and bronchoconstriction. Histamine also increases vascular permeability and potentiates pain. Tripelennamine can be used in the treatment of asthma, hay fever, rhinitis, and urticaria, but is now less common as newer antihistamines have replaced it.