INTERACTION BETWEEN FACILITATING AND DEPOLARIZING DRUGS AT THE NEUROMYAL JUNCTION OF THE CAT

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine, Hines, Illinois

A number of oxamides and other facilitating drugs have been examined for their ability to change the action of depolarizing drugs at the neuromyal junction from augmentation of the twitch followed by blockade to that of only augmentation ("reversal"). It has been observed that each of the drugs producing reversal possessed both facilitating and curaremimetic properties and that reversal was produced by the dose at which the two antagonistic properties were approximately in equilibrium. The pre-and postsynaptic actions of the depolarizing and the reversal-producing drugs have been discussed and a possible mechanism of action for reversal suggested.