Eighty years since the clinical use of d‑tubocurarine and 70 years since the clinical use of succinylcholine. History of muscle relaxants

Česká verzia

Authors: J. Málek ^1,2; P. Tůma ³
Authors place of work: KAR 3. LF UK a FNKV Praha ¹; Komise pro historii ČSARIM JEP, Praha ²; Ústav hygieny 3. LF UK, Praha ³
Published in the journal: Anest. intenziv. Med., 33, 2022, č. 3-4, s. 170-176
Category: History
doi: https://doi.org/10.36290/aim.2022.027

Summary

The article gives an overview of the use of curare from a poison of hunting arrows to its use in medicine as a muscle relaxant and a review of other substances that followed. People who have made a significant contribution to this history are listed. The development of muscle relaxant antidotes, the discovery of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, and the use and abuse of muscle relaxants outside of operating rooms are described.

Keywords:

muscle relaxants – history – neostigmine – acetylcholine receptor – suxamethonium – curare – misuse

Zdroje

1. Pitschmann V, Halámek E, Kobliha Z. Boj ohněm, dýmem a jedy. Nejstarší historie vojenského použití chemických a zápalných látek a vznik moderní chemické války. Kounice: Military System Line; 2001.

2. Auerbach PS. Hunting and Fishing Injuries. in Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine, 2017, [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology‑toxicology‑and‑pharmaceutical‑science/ dendrobates).

3. Aleksic A. Toxic bow. [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://www.etymologynerd. com/blog/toxic‑bow.

4. Tyrrell MF, Scurr CF, Davison MH. The curare exhibition. Marking the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the drug into clinical anaesthesia. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1967 Nov;41(5):424-31.

5. Rogozov V. Kurare – některá historická fakta. Anest intenziv Med. 2005;16(5):246-253.

6. Dorkins HR. Suxamethonium‑the development of a modern drug from 1906 to the present day. Med Hist. 1982;26(2):145-68. doi: 10.1017/s0025727300041132.

7. Nedergaard OA. Curare: the flying death. Pharmacol Toxicol. 2003 Apr;92(4):154-5. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0773.2003.920402.x.

8. Läwen, A.: Über die Verbindung der Lokalanästhesie mit der Narkose, über hohe Extraduralanästhesie und epidurale Injektionen anästhesierender Lösungen bei tabischen Magenkrisen. Bruns. Beitr. klin. Chir. 1912;80:168-180.

9. Dillane D, Chartrand D, Maltby R. Harold Griffith’s legacy: a tribute on the 75th anniversary of the introduction of curare into anesthetic practice. Can J Anaesth. 2017;64(6):559-568. doi: 10.1007/s12630-017-0864-6.

10. Ball C, Westhorpe R. Muscle relaxants – intocostrin. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2005 Jun;33(3):289. doi: 10.1177/0310057X0503300302.

11. Wikipedia. Enid Johnson Macleod. [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Enid_Johnson_Macleod.

12. Booij LHDJ. The history of neuromuscular blocking agents. Current Anaesthesia and Critical Care; 2000;11(1):27-33. https://doi.org/10.1054/cacc.2000.0245.

13. Griffiths H, Johnson E. The use of curare in general anesthesia. Anesthesiolgy 1942; 3:418- 420. [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://pubs.asahq.org/anesthesiology/article/ 3/4/418/21328/THE‑USE‑OF‑CURARE‑IN- GENERAL‑ANESTHESIA.

14. Gray TC. Harold King. A notable contributor to anaesthesia. Anaesthesia. 1991 Aug;46(8):679- 82. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1991.tb09723.x. PMID: 1887980.

15. Hess L, Rogozov L, Svítek M., Baďurová M., Klápšťová K. Jak dlouho je kurare jedovaté? Vesmír 2006, [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://vesmir.cz/cz/casopis/archiv‑casopisu/ 2006/cislo-6/jak‑dlouho‑je‑kurare‑jedovate. html.

16. Wikipedia. Dioxonium. [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://ru.wikipedia. org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9.

17. Ball C, Westhorpe R. Muscle relaxants – decamethonium. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2005 Dec;33(6):709. doi: 10.1177/0310057X0503300601.

18. Hunter AR. Decamethonium and hexamethonium; a clinical and experimental study. Br J Anaesth. 1950 Oct;22(4):218-34. doi: 10.1093/bja/22. 4. 218.

19. Plaud B. Joyeux anniversaire succinylcholine!, Annales Francaises d’Anesthesie et de Reanimation. 2012;31(10):770-772.

20. Ball C, Westhorpe RN. Muscle relaxants – suxamethonium and THA. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2006 Feb;34(1):3. doi: 10.1177/0310057X0603400123.

21. Raghavendra T. Neuromuscular blocking drugs: discovery and development. J R Soc Med. 2002;95:363-367 doi: 10.1258/jrsm.95.7.363.

22. Changeux JP. The Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor: The Founding Father of the Pentameric Ligand‑gated Ion Channel Superfamily. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2012;287(48):40207- 40215. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.R112.407668.

23. Changeux JP. Discovery of the First Neurotransmitter Receptor: The Acetylcholine Nicotinic Receptor. Biomolecules. 2020 Apr 3;10(4):547. doi: 10.3390/biom10040547.

24. Nickalls RWD, Nickalls EA. The first reversal of curare. Anaesthesia. 1985;40:572-575.

25. Pal J. Physostigmin ein Gegengift des Curare. Zentralblatt fur Physiologie 1900; 14:255-8. [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: http://nickalls.org/dick/papers/anes/curare1985a.pdf.

26. Málek J. Centrální anticholinergní syndrom – zapomenutá diagnóza? Anest intenziv Med. 2021;32(4-5):237-239.

27. Ball C, Westhorpe RN. Muscle relaxants – reversal agents. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2006 Aug;34(4):415. doi: 10.1177/0310057X0603400420.

28. Welliver M, McDonough J, Kalynych N, Redfern R. Discovery, development, and clinical application of sugammadex sodium, a selective relaxant binding agent. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2009 Feb 6;2:49-59. doi: 10.2147/dddt.s2757.

29. EMA: Bridion [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/ medicines/human/EPAR/bridion.

30. Shah SB, Chawla R, Pahade A, El‑Molla A. Neuromuscular blockers and their reversal: have we finally found the on‑off switches? Ain‑Shams J Anesthesiol 13, 15. 2021;13:15. https://doi. org/10.1186/s42077-021-00130-0.

31. de Boer HD, Carlos RV. New Drug Developments for Neuromuscular Blockade and Reversal: Gantacurium, CW002, CW011, and Calabadion. Curr. Anesthesiol. Rep. 2018;8(2):119-124. doi:10.1007/s40140-018-0262-9.

32. Shmuely S. Curare: The Poisoned Arrow that Entered the Laboratory and Sparked a Moral Debate. Social History of Medicine. 2020;33(3): 881-897. doi: 10.1093/shm/hky124.

33. Hess L, Rogozov V, Svítek M, Schreiberová J. Kurare – netradiční způsoby podání. Anest intenziv Med. 2005;16(5):242-245.

34. Kroll D. The Drugs Used In Execution By Lethal Injection. 2014 [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkroll/2014/05/01/the‑pharmacology‑andtoxicology‑of‑execution‑by‑lethal‑injection/.

35. Rogers A. The Shocking Lack of Science Behind Lethal Injections. Science. 2017. [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: Arkansas Executions: The Shocking Lack of Science Behind Lethal Injections | WIRED.

36. Johnstone RE, Katz RL, Stanley TH. Homicides using muscle relaxants, opioids, and anesthetic drugs: anesthesiologist assistance in their investigation and prosecution. Anesthesiology. 2011 Mar;114(3):713-6. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e31820b8d19.

37. Doyle AC. Upír v Sussexu. [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://www.ceskyjazyk. cz/citanka/arthur‑conan‑doyle/ upir‑v- sussexu‑posledni‑poklona‑sherlocka‑holmese. html#axzz6O2lZaOF7.

38. Wikipedia: The case book of Sherlock Holmes. [Internet]. [cit. 2022-12-07]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Case‑ Book_of_Sherlock_Holmes.

39. Krosnar K. Polish police hold health workers over alleged murder of patients. BMJ. 2002 Feb 2;324(7332):260. doi: 10.1136/bmj.324.7332.260 b.