Neuromuscular Blockers Flashcards
what is the mechanism of action of NMD?
prevents muscle contraction by interfering with the transmission of an action potential from the nerve ending to the muscle
where does the NMD work specifically?
at the junction between nerve and muscle
what are the 5 uses of NMD?
1) Facilitate endotracheal intubation
2) Decrease muscle tone to provide appropriate operating conditions (abd surgical case)
3) To alleviate muscle activity with ECT (seizure)
4) To allow balanced anesthesia without patient movement
5) To assist in controlled ventilatory patients in the ICU
what type of terminal does a NMD impulse arrive at?
motor nerve terminal
What influx causes vesicles to adhere to the PREsynaptic membrane and rupture to release acetylcholine (ACh) into the cleft?
Calcium
what type of receptor does ACh diffuses across the synaptic cleft/synapse/gap/junction to?
nicotinic (cholinergic) receptor
what is another name for nicotinic receptor?
cholinergic
what type of sites does Ach bind to on the POSTsynaptic receptor? (causes the ion channel to open)
alpha (MUST BIND TO BOTH)
Sodium and potassium ions move through the channel causing depolarization of what?
motor end plate membrane
what is the change in the transmembrane potential to reach threshold potential (2 different numbers)?
-90mV to -45 mV – threshold potential
The action potential spreads over the surfaces of the muscle fibers causing ___________?
contraction
what comes IN the cell during an action potential?
sodium
what goes OUT of the cell during an action potential?
potassium
how is muscle contraction initiated?
excitation-contraction coupling
what is Ach metabolized by?
acetylcholinesterase (AChE), a local acetylcholine enzyme (which is contained in the postsynaptic membrane)
what would low calcium cause?
decreased release in Ach
is NMD local or systemic?
local, not really going out into plasma
what type of NMD blocks the alpha site so that the muscle cant do anything
Curare alkaloids
what is the only depolarizing NMB?
Succinylcholine
how does succinylcholine work?
attaches to the alpha site, causes the muscle to depoliarize just like normal, but then once its depolarized it cant repolarize until the succ diffuses
how is release of acetylcholine triggered?
increases in the concentrations of free calcium ions in nerve terminals
what is Ach
a primary neurotransmitter
what is the principal site of action of neuromuscular blocking agents
Neuromuscular junction
what drug inhibits release of Ach
magnesium (think it works opposite of calcium)
what does low calcium cause (side effect)?
muscle weakness
how is Ach synthesized?
motor nerve ending by acetylation of choline which is controlled by choline acetylase enzyme
how is Ach rapidly hydrolyzed?
acetylcholinesterase (AChE) converts it to acetic acid and choline
how long does rapid hydrolysis of Ach take?
<15 milliseconds ms (prevents the sustained depolarization of the NMJ)
WHERE are presynaptic prejunctional nAchRs (receptors)?
on the motor NERVE ending
what is indirect evidence of the activation mobilizes additional ACh for subsequent release (blockade of these receptors causes a decrease in the release of ACh)
tetanic fade*, fasciculations with SCh, short-lived contractions before blockade with SCh
WHERE are extrajunctional (perijunctional) nAchRs (receptors)?
throughout the muscle cell itself
WHAT are extrajunctional (perijunctional) nAchRs (receptors)?
typically found in fetus (fetal receptors)
proliferation occurs when muscle is damaged, diseased, or denervated (stroke, paralysis, burn, immobilization, muscular dystrophy)
how much longer do extrajunctional (perijunctional) nAchRs (receptors) channels remain open?
4x as long, greater risk for HYPERKALEMIA
Potassium is coming out (stroke, crush injuries/trauma, long term injuries)
WHERE are postsynaptic receptors found?
junctional folds of the muscle membrane (transmembrane)
what 5 linear protein subunits make up postsynaptic receptors?
2 alpha, 1 beta, 1 delta, 1 epsilon
the binding of Ach to the 2 alpha sites causes the receptor to undergo change to open a channel for?
cations
what leaves the cell to cause depolarization?
potassium
what enters the cell to cause depolarization?
calcium and sodium