U-89843A (PNU-89843) is a sedative drug which acts as an agonist at GABA_A

receptors Receptor may refer to: *Sensory receptor, in physiology, any structure which, on receiving environmental stimuli, produces an informative nerve impulse *Receptor (biochemistry), in biochemistry, a protein molecule that receives and responds to a n ...

, specifically acting as a positive allosteric modulator selective for the α1, α3 and α6 subtypes. It has sedative effects in animals but without causing

ataxia Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements. Ataxia is a clinical manifestation indicating dysfunction of ...

, and also acts as an antioxidant and may have

neuroprotective Neuroprotection refers to the relative preservation of neuronal structure and/or function. In the case of an ongoing insult (a neurodegenerative insult) the relative preservation of neuronal integrity implies a reduction in the rate of neuronal los ...

effects. It was developed by a team at Upjohn in the 1990s.

References

Sedatives 1-Pyrrolidinyl compounds Pyrrolopyrimidines GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators {{sedative-stub