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Pharmacology of Neurotransmitter Release pp 561–573Cite as

Therapeutic Use of Release-Modifying Drugs

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Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 184))

Presynaptic inhibitory or facilitatory autoreceptors are targets for the endogenous neurotransmitter of the respective neuron, and also for exogenous agonists, partial agonists and antagonists which can produce pharmacological actions through changes in transmitter release. In addition, presynaptic inhibitory or facilitatory heteroreceptors can also be acted upon by exogenous agonists, partial agonists or antagonists to induce changes in transmitter release with useful therapeutic effects. This article summarizes drugs that are known or likely to produce their therapeutic effects through presynaptic modulation of neurotransmitter release. Included are drugs acting on α and β adrenoceptors, dopamine receptors, angiotensin, opioid, cannabinoid, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Also discussed are changes in presynaptic receptor mechanisms produced by drugs that inhibit transmitter re-uptake.

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  1. Alpha2 Pharmaceutica AB, 8 H. Rosenblum Street, Apt. 4650, Tel-Aviv 69379, Israel

    S. Z. Langer

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  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Center for Basic Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Blvd. NA4.118, Dallas, TX 75390, USA

    Thomas C. Südhof

  2. Institut für Experimentelle und Klinische Pharmakologie und Toxikologie, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Albertstrasse 25, D-79104 Freiburg i.Br., Germany

    K. Starke  & Klaus Starke  & 

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Langer, S.Z. (2008). Therapeutic Use of Release-Modifying Drugs. In: Südhof, T.C., Starke, K. (eds) Pharmacology of Neurotransmitter Release. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 184. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74805-2_17

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