Comparative Pharmacology: Neurotropic and Myotropic Compounds

Abstract

This is the first time that the title Comparative Pharmacology appears within the covers of the Annual Review of Pharmacology, The Annual Review of Physiology has made it a practice, since 1951, to include each year a section on Comparative Physiology. It is well to pause and to examine the needs and meaning of the prefix "comparative. " In the Introduction to his important text on comparative physiology, August Puetter (1) wrote in 1911,The knowledge of scientifi c laws, as sought by physiology, is reached by a process of abstraction of the common from the abundance of single phenomena. The activity which leads to the cognition of the common (general), is that of comparing and so every scientific work in the field of physiology and every work which transgresses the pure empirical establishing of single facts, is an effort in the sense of " comparative" Physiology. The comparing is the most essential method which we use in science. Does it, under these circumstances, make any sense at all to speak of "Comparative Physiology?" Are not .. . physiology and comparative physiology the same?In the famous eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Ralph Stockman (2) investigates the scope of pharmacology in various countries and comes to the conclusion that,In English speaking countries and [with] the majority of German writers, [pharma cology is] the study of the action of chemical substances (as apart from foods) on all kinds of animals, from bacteria up to man; it is, in fact, a comparative study of the action of chemical bodies on invertebrate and vertebrate animals.

Comparative Aspects of Muscle

“…A summary has been given by Kerkut (153) . Florey (157) has also examined the data, but has not been able to accept a complete identity of the substances with the naturally occurring ones. However, their ability to activate the relevant subsynaptic membranes is no longer in question.…”

Synthesis of Some 3-Indenealkylamines. Comparison of the Biological Activity of 3-Indenealkylamines and 3-Benzo[b]thiophenealkylamines with Their Tryptamine Isosteres

“…trinsic activity relative to 5-hydroxytryptamine and their affinity. The majority of the indenes, tryptamines, and benzo [6] thiophenes have a greater intrinsic activity than 5-hydroxytrvptamine, but none has a higher affinity. A high degree of correlation exists between isosteres with respect to these drug parameters.…”

“…Lewis, et al,n Beck, et al,u and Campaigne, et a/.,15 have reported on the pharmacological effect of replae-ing the nitrogen in the 1 position by sulfur. The benzo- [6]thiophene derivatives prepared by Lewis, et a!.,14 were isosteric with relatively inactive indole compounds, hence it is difficult to draw conclusions regarding the effect of this replacement. These authors did observe, however, that this substitution leads to a reduction of agonistic activity in a variety of smooth muscle preparations and to the emergence of variable nonspecific antagonistic properties toward 5-HT, acetylcholine, and histamine.…”