About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 29. Chapters: 5-APB, 5-APDB, 6-APB, 6-APDB, Abexinostat, ABT-239, Amiodarone, Befunolol, Befuraline, Benzbromarone, Benziodarone, Benzofuran, BHFF, Brofaromine, Budiodarone, Bufuralol, Carbofuran, Carbosulfan, Celivarone, Cloridarol, Darifenacin, Dimemebfe, Dronedarone, Efaroxan, Elopiprazole, Enadoline, F-22 (psychedelic), F-2 (psychedelic), Flavoxanthin, Fura-2, Fura-2-acetoxymethyl ester, Griseofulvin, Kynapcin, LY-320,135, Noscapine, Oxetorone, Polyozellin, Prucalopride, Ramelteon, Sercloremine, Tasimelteon, TC-5619, Trimellitic anhydride chloride, Vilazodone, Zatosetron. Excerpt: Amiodarone (sold under the brand name Nexterone by Baxter Healthcare Corporation) is an antiarrhythmic agent used for various types of cardiac dysrhythmias, both ventricular and atrial. It was discovered in 1961. Despite relatively common side-effects, it is used in arrhythmias that are otherwise difficult to treat with medication. The original observation that amiodarone's progenitor molecule, khellin, had cardioactive properties, was made by the Lebanese physiologist Gleb von Anrep while working in Cairo. Khellin is a plant extract of Khella or Ammi visnaga, a common plant in north Africa. Anrep noticed that one of his technicians had been cured of anginal symptoms after taking khellin, then used for various, non-cardiac ailments. This led to efforts by European pharmaceutical industries to isolate an active compound. Amiodarone was initially developed in 1961 at the Labaz company, Belgium, by chemists Tondeur and Binon, who were working on preparations derived from khellin. It became popular in Europe as a treatment for angina pectoris. As a doctoral candidate at Oxford University, Dr. Bramah Singh determined that amiodarone and sotalol had antiarrhythmic properties and belonged to a new class of antiarrhythmic agents (what would become the class III antiarrhythmic agents). Today the mechanisms of action of amiodarone and sotalol have been investigated in more detail. Both drugs have been demonstrated to prolong the duration of the action potential, prolonging the refractory period, by interacting among other cellular function with K+ channels. Based on Singh's work, the Argentinian physician Dr. Mauricio Rosenbaum began using amiodarone to treat his patients who suffered from supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, with impressive results. Based on papers written by Dr. Rosenbaum developing Singh's theories, physicians in the United States began prescribing amiodarone to their patients with potentially life-threatening arrhythmias in the late 1970s. By 198
