| cholinergic agonists | Drugs that bind to and activate cholinergic receptors. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| agonist | 1. <anatomy> A prime mover. 2. <pharmacology> A drug that has affinity for and stimulates physiologic activity at cell receptors normally stimulated by naturally occurring substances, thus triggering a biochemical response. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| calcium channel agonist | <pharmacology> Agents that increase calcium influx into calcium channels of excitable tissues. This causes vasoconstriction in vascular smooth muscle and/or cardiac muscle cells as well as stimulation of insulin release from pancreatic islets. Therefore, tissue-selective calcium agonists have the potential to combat cardiac failure and endocrinological disorders. They have been used primarily in experimental studies in cell and tissue culture. (12 Dec 1998) |
| receptor agonist | A substance that mimics a specificneurotransmitter, is able to attach to that neurotransmitter's receptor and thereby produces the same action that theneurotransmitter usually produces. Drugs are often designed as receptor agonists to treat a variety of diseases and disorders whenthe original chemical substance is missing or depleted. (22 May 1997) |
| mixed opioid agonist-antagonist | <pharmacology> A compound that has an affinity for two or more types of opioid receptors and blocks opioid effects on one receptor type while producing opioid effects on a second receptor type. (13 Nov 1997) |
| muscarinic agonist | Drugs that bind to and activate muscarinic cholinergic receptors (receptors, muscarinic). Muscarinic agonists are most commonly used when it is desirable to increase smooth muscle tone, especially in the GI tract, urinary bladder and the eye. They may also be used to reduce heart rate. (12 Dec 1998) |
| histamine agonist | Drugs that bind to and activate histamine receptors. Although they have been suggested for a variety of clinical applications histamine agonists have so far been more widely used in research than therapeutically. (12 Dec 1998) |
| opioid agonist | <pharmacology> Any morphine-like compound that produces bodily effects including pain relief, sedation, constipation and respiratory depression. (16 Dec 1997) |
| opioid partial agonist | <pharmacology> A compound that has an affinity for and stimulates physiologic activity at the same cell receptors as opioid agonists but that produces only a partial (i.e., submaximal) bodily response. (16 Dec 1997) |
| LH and RH agonist | <pharmacology> Particular medications that act as potent inhibitors of gonadotrophin (testosterone) secretion. They act to inhibit the production of testosterone through a feedback mechanism on the pituitary gland. LH and RH agonists are useful in the treatment of prostate cancer. (14 Oct 1997) |
| receptors, cholinergic | Cell surface proteins that bind acetylcholine with high affinity and trigger intracellular changes influencing the behaviour of cells. Cholinergic receptors are divided into two major classes, muscarinic and nicotinic, based originally on their affinity for nicotine and muscarine. Each group is further subdivided based on pharmacology, location, mode of action, and/or molecular biology. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cholinergic | <pharmacology> Resembling acetylcholine in pharmacological action, stimulated by or releasing acetylcholine or a related compound. (15 Jan 1998) |
| cholinergic agent | An agent that mimics the action of the parasympathetic nervous system (e.g., methacholine). (05 Mar 2000) |
| cholinergic agents | Any drug used for its actions on cholinergic systems. Included here are agonists and antagonists, drugs that affect the life cycle of acetylcholine, and drugs that affect the survival of cholinergic neurons. The term cholinergic agents is sometimes still used in the narrower sense of muscarinic agonist, although most modern texts discourage that usage. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cholinergic antagonists | Drugs that bind to but do not activate cholinergic receptors, thereby blocking the actions of acetylcholine or cholinergic agonists. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cholinergic blockade | Inhibition by a drug of nerve impulse transmission at autonomic ganglionic synapses (ganglionic blockade), at postganglionic parasympathetic effector cells (e.g., by atropine), and at myoneural junctions (myoneural blockade), the inhibition of a cholinergic agent. (05 Mar 2000) |