While i was browsing the net yesterday i stumbled upon this interesting
article. You can check the link your self:
erowid.org/chemicals/ghb/ghb_patent2.shtml
Here are some of the points that i found quite interesting:
From one aspect ethyl 4-acetoxybutanoate may be regarded as a chemically modified and chemically protected form of .gamma.-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), with the acid and hydroxyl functions thereof protected. GHB has been demonstrated in clinical trials to be a safe, oral drug for treatment of narcolepsy and as a powerful muscle relaxant. However, its effects are of too short a duration, due to its lack of bio-availability. It is possible that, after entry into the cell, the compound ethyl 4-acetoxybutanoate of the invention slowly hydrolyses to form GHB or a similar compound in situ, to exercise the therapeutic effects thereof over a longer period of time. In any event, it has been found that ethyl 4-acetoxybutanoate has a much longer lasting effect, at equivalent dosage levels, than GHB. This makes it a far more effective treatment for narcolepsy than anything heretofore available. Indeed, the effect is so markedly longer lasting that ethyl 4-acetoxybutanoate shows potential for treatment of patients having conditions or disorders where GHB is of little or no use. In cases of chronic insomnia, for example, sufficient dosages of the present compound can be administered to maintain sleep throughout the night, without incurring the development of tolerance or withdrawal side effects. Currently available chemotherapeutic agents will not do this. The compound of the present invention constitutes a safe and powerful hypnotic, for administration to a patient each night. Animals, especially small animals, treated with reasonable doses of ethyl 4-acetoxyoutanoate sleep so deeply that they repose for extended periods of time on their backs. Thus ethyl 4-acetoxybutanoate is useful as a veterinary anaesthetic, especially for small animals. Upon waking, no ill effects are detectable. The compound is also a powerful muscle relaxant for use in the treatment of a variety of conditions involving muscle spasticity.
The patent is filed on April 19, 1988 so i guess the patent should have expired, hopefully some day this drug could be available and
help us especially regarding the sleep issues.