Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain death is sometimes used as a legal definition of death. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shortly after death. Death is an inevitable process that eventually occurs in almost all organisms. Death is generally applied to whole organisms; the similar process seen in individual components of an organism, such as cells or tissues, is necrosis. Something that is not considered an organism, such as a virus, can be physically destroyed but is not said to die. As of the early 21st century, over 150,000 humans die each day, with ageing being by far the most common cause of death.Many cultures and religions have the idea of an afterlife, and also may hold the idea of judgement of good and bad deeds in ones life (heaven, hell, karma). Diagnosis
Problems of definition
The concept of death is a key to human understanding of the phenomenon. There are many scientific approaches and various interpretations of the concept. Additionally, the advent of life-sustaining therapy and the numerous criteria for defining death from both a medical and legal standpoint, have made it difficult to create a single unifying definition. One of the challenges in defining death is in distinguishing it from life. As a point in time, death would seem to refer to the moment at which life ends.
Using cloned α1G, α1H, and α1I T-type calcium channels, Gomoras team found that ethosuximide blocked the channels with an IC50 of 12 ± 2 mmol/L and that of N-desmethylmethsuximide (the active metabolite of mesuximide) is 1.95 ± 0.19 mmol/L for α1G, 1.82 ± 0.16 mmol/L for α1I, and 3.0 ± 0.3 mmol/L for α1H. It was suggested that the blockade of open channels is facilitated by ethosuximides physically plugging the channels when current flows inward. Stereochemistry
Ethosuximide is a chiral drug with a stereocenter. Therapeutically, the racemate, the 1: 1 mixture of ( S ) and ( R ) - isomers used. Society and culture
Cost
As of 2019 there were concerns in the United States that the price of ethosuximide was inflated by manufacturers. Availability
Availability of ethosuximide is limited in many countries. It was marketed under the trade names Emeside and Zarontin. However, both capsule preparations were discontinued from production, leaving only generic preparations available. Emeside capsules were discontinued by their manufacturer, Laboratories for Applied Biology, in 2005. Similarly, Zarontin capsules were discontinued by Pfizer in 2007. Syrup preparations of both brands remained available. See also
Phensuximide
Methsuximide

References
External links
"Ethosuximide". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.