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Article: Studies from University of North Texas yield new data on pharmacology and experimental therapeutics.
- Article from:
- Drug Week
- Article date:
- July 3, 2009
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"Carisoprodol is a frequently prescribed muscle relaxant. In recent years, this drug has been increasingly abused," scientists in the United States report (see also Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics).
"The effects of carisoprodol have been attributed to its metabolite, meprobamate, a controlled substance that produces sedation via GABA(A) receptors (GABA(A) Rs). Given the structural similarities between carisoprodol and meprobamate, we used electrophysiological and behavioral approaches to investigate whether carisoprodol directly affects GABA(A) R function. In whole-cell patch-clamp studies, carisoprodol allosterically modulated and directly activated ...