Curariform drugs

The therapeutic uses of neostigmine include the treatment of atony of the urinary bladder and postoperative abdominal distention. In addition, it antagonizes the action of rf-tubocurarine and curariform drugs. Edrophonium, neostigmine, or pyridostigmine may be used to diagnose myasthenia gravis. Because edrophonium has the shortest duration of action, it is most often used for this purpose. 

Musck Halothane causes some relaxation of skeletal muscle via its central depressant effects and potentiates the actions of nondepolarizing muscle relaxants (curariform drugs see Chapter 9), increasing both their duration of action and the magnitude of their effect. Halothane and the other halogenated inhalational anesthetics can trigger malignant hyperthermia this syndrome frequently is fatal and is treated by immediate discontinuation of the anesthetic and administration of dantrolene. 

It has long been known that quaternary ammonium salts can exert a curare-like action, and in recent years much attention has been given to the synthesis and pharmacological testing of such products work on this subject up to 1936 has been reviewed by Ing, and more recently a theoretical discussion of the relationship between structure and action in drugs of this type has been provided by Holmes, Jenden and Taylor.Chase, Lehmann and Yonkmann have compared the action of quaternary salts of quinine with that of -erythroidine hydrochloride and of dihydro- -erythroidine hydrobromide. Quinine ethochloride shows marked curariform action of short duration. ... 

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