DIFFERING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HEXAMETHONIUM AND TUBOCURARINE, PANCURONIUM OR ALCURONIUM AT THE NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION

The action of hexamethonium has been investigated in the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation, alone and in combination with the neuromuscular blocking agents tubocurarine, pancuronium and alcuronium. Hexamethonium alone in concentrations between 3.55×10−3 and 7.1×10−3 mol litre−1 produced ne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of anaesthesia : BJA 1988-10, Vol.61 (4), p.419-424
Main Authors: POLLARD, B.J., VAN DER SPEK, A.F.L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcuronium - pharmacology
Anesthetics. Neuromuscular blocking agents
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Drug Interactions
Hexamethonium
Hexamethonium Compounds - pharmacology
In Vitro Techniques
Medical sciences
Neuromuscular Blocking Agents - pharmacology
Neuromuscular Junction - drug effects
Neuropharmacology
Pancuronium - pharmacology
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Rats
Rats, Inbred Strains
Tubocurarine - pharmacology
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Summary:The action of hexamethonium has been investigated in the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation, alone and in combination with the neuromuscular blocking agents tubocurarine, pancuronium and alcuronium. Hexamethonium alone in concentrations between 3.55×10−3 and 7.1×10−3 mol litre−1 produced neuromuscular blockade in a dose-dependent manner. Low concentrations of hexamethonium antagonized the neuromuscular blocking effect of all three neuromuscular blocking drugs, less with tubocurarine than with the other two. Increasing the concentration of hexamethonium produced potentiation of the neuromuscular blocking effect, this being greater with tubocurarine than with either pancuronium or alcuronium. The cholines-terase activity in rat diaphragm homogenates was inhibited by hexamethonium. This inhibition was only significant at concentrations greater than those which resulted in antagonism and cannot, therefore, explain the observed antagonism. The mechanism of these observations is discussed with respect to the known behaviour of a combination of antagonists acting within a receptor system.
ISSN:0007-0912
1471-6771
DOI:10.1093/bja/61.4.419