iomazenil iomazenil iomazenil (also known as ro16-0154, inn, usan; benzodine) is an antagonist and partial inverse agonist of benzodiazepine and a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder. the compound was introduced in 1989 by pharmaceutical company hoffmann-la roche as an iodine-123-labelled spect tracer for imaging benzodiazepine receptors (gabaa receptors) in the brain. iomazenil is an analogue of flumazenil (ro15-1788). iomazenilclinical dataother namesro 16-0154identifiers iupac name ethyl 7-iodanyl-5-methyl-6-oxo-4h-imidazobenzodiazepine-3-carboxylate cas number127985-21-1 y 127396-36-5 (123i)pubchem cid65959chemspider59362unii7dvx185flq123i: b851121553chemblchembl2105020comptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid00155549 chemical and physical dataformulac15h14123in3o3molar mass407.290 g/mol3d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles ccoc(=o)c1c2n(cn1)-c3cccc(c3c(=o)n(c2)c)i inchi inchi=1s/c15h14in3o3/c1-3-22-15(21)13-11-7-18(2)14(20)12-9(16)5-4-6-10(12)19(11)8-17-13/h4-6,8h,3,7h2,1-2h3/i16-4key:frizvhmaecrubr-kiwwsdkqsa-n use in brain research 123i-labelled iomazenil can be used to image epileptic seizure foci as an alternative to 18f-fludeoxyglucose pet imaging. the effect of iomazenil of reducing levels of gaba in the brain was used by researchers to exacerbate symptoms in patients with schizophrenia in a laboratory study, supporting the theory that a gaba deficiency underlies that disease. alcohol treatment researchers at yale university and veterans affairs connecticut healthcare system have been testing iomazenil as a potential treatment for drunkenness due to its ability to bind alcohol receptors in the brain.