anticholinesterase

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Drugs that inhibit the action of cholinesterases, the enzymes that break down acetylcholine. They therefore prolong the activity of acetylcholine and cause an exaggerated response of the parasympathetic nervous system, i.e. they are cholinergic drugs. They have the opposite action to antimuscarinic drugs. Anticholinesterases are used at the end of surgical operations to reverse the paralysis induced by skeletal muscle relaxants. They are also used to treat or diagnose myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune condition in which nerve impulses to the muscles are diminished, causing extreme weakness and fatigability of the muscles. By preventing the breakdown of acetylcholine, anticholinesterases enable the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles to be prolonged. Anticholinesterases have a limited role in relieving urinary retention and paralysis of the bowel, especially after surgery. The commonly used anticholinesterases are pyridostigmine, edrophonium, and neostigmine.

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any agent, other than an antibody, that inhibits cholinesterase (def. 2). An example is physostigmine, used in the diagnosis and treatment of myasthenia gravis.

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A drug that inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, thereby potentiating the action of acetylcholine at postsynaptic membrane receptors in the parasympathetic nervous system.

(an′tīkō′lines′tərās)
n

A drug or chemical that inhibits or inactivates the enzyme cholinesterase, resulting in the actions produced by the accumulation of acetylcholine at cholinergic sites.