Effect of germine acetates on neuromuscular transmission

Abstract

The effects of germine monoacetate and germine diacetate on muscle tension and neuromuscular transmission have been investigated in the rat. The drugs cause a marked increase in muscle tension which is the result of repetitive muscle action potentials following a single stimulus to the nerve. It has been demonstrated in experiments on the rat diaphragm-phrenic nerve preparations that the repetitive activity is initiated by an after-depolarization of the muscle cell membrane. The germine acetates did not reduce the muscle end-plate sensitivity to transmitter, but appeared to cause a slight increase in the amount of transmitter released. Experiments on partially curarized preparations indicated that the drugs were effective in increasing muscle tension when there was a partial block in neuromuscular transmission and that they were effective also in the presence of anticholinesterase drugs. The significance of the findings in relation to the possible use of the germine acetates in the treatment of myasthenia gravis is discussed. It is concluded that they may be useful in therapy, and that further clinical evaluation is warranted.